Strong Families, Strong Communities

For 90 years, the Family Service Center of Glenview, Kenilworth, Northbrook, and Wilmette has been a resource to individuals and their families during difficult times. Much has changed over the past 90 years, but one thing has remained constant the family is central to the well-being of individuals and the well-being of the community.

Recent knowledge from the sciences has made this truth more profound than ever. We now know, for example, how interlinked the development and functioning of the brain is with the family environment. We know the links between our emotional and physical well-being and family relationships. We also have a better understanding of how individual differences among members of the same family develop. Family Service Center places a strong emphasis in staying on top of and involved in current research and science. The strength of a family is due to many factors and is most apparent when it is under considerable stress. Some families are more vulnerable than others and even the strongest families go through vulnerable times. A family during periods of adversity may need to be fortified by friends, neighbors and the community, but its real strength will come from its own nuclear and extended family.

The goal of the professional staff at the Family Service Center is to assist one or more family members in their effort to address and resolve problems which have arisen. A family member wiling to take a leadership position can accomplish great things. Professional help at the Family Service Center is directed toward assessing both the strengths and the vulnerability of a family and lending a helping hand to the family member or members motivated to make a difference. Knowledge of how the family influences its members can aid an individual’s effort to profoundly influence his or her family.

Ninety years ago, the Women’s Club of Wilmette and several area churches took a Membership position in the effort to help farnilies in the community facing adversity and founded the Family Service Center. The Family Service Center doesn’t make strong families, but motivated individuals in a family can. In a wonderfully constructive cycle the community allows the Family Service Center to be a resource for families which in turn contribute to a stronger community. The Family Service Center Board and staff hope you will join us in celebrating 90 years of this endeavor.