Habilitative Systems, an Austin-based social services organization, received an $888,135 grant to provide mental health services for residents affected by last July’s flooding.
Habilitative Systems provides mental health services for kids and adults in Austin and throughout the West Side, and offers emergency housing services and employment training. Its grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services division of mental health will be used to pay eight full-time counselors to provide one-on-one or group counseling, and to refer residents to other organizations for services they may need. The organization will also use the money to market the available services. The grant serves the residents of the areas that were most hard-hit by flooding: Austin and the suburbs of Cicero, Berwyn, and Stickney.
According to the National Weather Service, during the weekend of July 2 to 3, Chicago received between 3 and 8 inches of rainfall, but the west and southwest sides of Chicago and the western suburbs bore the brunt of it. MWRD reversed the flow of the Chicago River by the afternoon of July 2 to send some water into Lake Michigan, but many basements had already been flooded.
Statistics for the zip codes that include parts of Austin showed that as of Nov. 9, more than 10,000 people who live in the community received federal aid to cope with the damage from the flood.
The IDHS grant is part of the state’s larger effort to help the flood-damaged communities “reach pre-flood status,” with particular focus on the already vulnerable elderly, youth, unemployed and disabled residents.
According to Habilitative Systems, the organization will use FEMA surveys to help with the outreach.
In a statement, Habilitative Systems CEO Donald Dew said that were pleased to have the opportunity to provide services to residents who need it most.
“Flooding impacts the lives of everyone in its path, but it is most devastating to our most vulnerable populations who can’t write a check to make the devastation go away,” he said. “HSI is proud to have the trust of IDHS-DMH and are eager to put HSI’s considerable reach and capacity to the task of helping people recover. We will work in partnership with community-based organizations and clergy to maximize our impact.”
For more information about Habilitative Systems and its services, visit https://habilitative.org
