Cook County, Ill. – Six hundred turkeys and 350 coats were provided to families on the first weekend of December thanks to Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP™) Washington Heights Violence Interruption Team and the Service Coordination and Navigation (SCaN) program.
“This year we decided to host the Winter Coat and Turkey Giveaway after Thanksgiving to be a blessing to people in our community who may need help in between holidays,” said Washington Heights Violence Interruption Program Director Ken Lewis. “We also want to express our gratitude to our partners who helped YAP Chicago make this annual event happen.”
The YAP Washington Heights Violence Interruption and SCaN programs co-hosted the event at Simeon Alumni Village on Dec. 7 in conjunction with Project Simeon 2000, Illinois State Rep. Justin Slaughter, Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore and Chicago 21st Ward Alderman Ronnie Mosley.
YAP is a national nonprofit in 34 states and Washington, D.C. that provides community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, residential care, and group home foster placements. The agency partners with public systems to provide individual and family wraparound and behavioral health services as an alternative to out-of-home placement. YAP also uses its unique wraparound services approach known as YAPWrap™ to help cities curb community violence.
The YAP Chicago Washington Heights Violence Interruption program, funded through a grant from the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), provides violence interruption services, street and hospital outreach, crisis intervention, peace building activities, family engagement, individual wraparound services, and conflict resolution. The SCaN program, a partnership through Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), includes supporting youth ages 14-24 who have been systems involved or impacted by violence. The YAP SCaN program serves program participants living in the Auburn Gresham area.
In addition to attendees receiving coats and birds, residents were also connected to valuable resources, including economic, educational, and emotional tools, to support their success and help reduce violence in local neighborhoods.
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