I have no idea how it could possibly be July. This summer seems to be going by so much faster than previous years. I hope you are enjoying it and have made plans to set your worries aside and enjoy life.
We have so many exciting things happening at Anew. Our PAIP office is about to open, and we are reorganizing all our office spaces. Please be patient if you visit us and we look a little messy! Even though it is hectic with all this moving around, I welcome the chaos because it has been a long time coming. Here are some of the things you can expect to see in the coming months:
Our Partner Abuse Intervention Program will be in their own space in Chicago Heights and that team is growing! We've long envisioned a program that offers robust services to help people change their behaviors in intimate relationships. One thing we noticed is how many barriers our participants have that prevent them from being able to make lasting changes in their lives. The barriers are very similar to ones we see with survivors we serve, and for them, we provide an extensive amount of support to overcome those barriers. We are hiring a Case Manager to help the PAIP participants address barriers and meet their basic needs so they can focus on the work of taking accountability for the harm they have caused and choose to be healthy in their relationships.
Our crisis intervention program is coming on site! We are excited to build out our 24-Hour Crisis Intervention Program and have staff on-site in our Harwood building. The Crisis Intervention Program includes our hotline and emergency shelter services. Our Harwood office is our public location, and the place where someone in crisis might come seeking our services. Having our advocates on-site is going to be such a wonderful support to our community.
I am incredibly proud of our team and how we have leaned on each other and learned so much in the last three years. It has been quite a journey and we still find ourselves riding the waves. Sometimes we are high on the crest, and sometimes if feels like we crashed on the shore. But in all of it, we have each other and you, our incredibly supporting community, to depend on and to celebrate with!
Speaking of celebrating! I hope you are picking out your sneakers for the Sneaker Ball in October. We are already seeing record level support for this event and you will not want to miss it!
In Peace,
Jennifer
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