Parent Wellness Support

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
The Illinois Department on Aging, in cooperation with the Illinois Task Force on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, works to locate, assist and promote awareness of older caregivers who are currently raising their family’s children. Learn more and get connected to this network.

Oak Park Families with Children from China (OPFCC)
Email: oakparkfcc@gmail.com
Playgroups, cultural activities, social events, and support groups for families with adoptive children from China, & families who are in the process of adopting.

LGBTQ Family Resources
In addition to offering programs and services on-site, Center on Halsted serves as a gateway to the broad array of community resources available in Chicagoland and beyond.

West Suburban MOMS (Moms of Multiples)
Email: info@momsofmultiples.org 
Moms of Multiples is a support group that offers information, advice and camaraderie for women with multiples or expecting multiples.

Catholic Charities
1400 S. Austin, Cicero 60804
Phone: 708-222-1491
708-329-4024 (Direct line to intake)
Food pantry, clothing, outreach for Medicare/LINK; referral to emergency assistance program; suburban shelter; family and elder services; counseling and psychotherapy; outreach to survivors of suicide; immigration; children and adolescent pregnancy program (CAPP); adoption services and intact family services program; respite services.

CEDA (Community & Economic Development Assn.) Near West
6141 W. Roosevelt Road, Cicero 60804
Phone: 708-222-3824
A variety of services for income-eligible families including Family Case Management, Access to Care, Kid Care applications, Head Start, WIC, energy assistance (LIHEAP), weatherization, rent and mortgage assistance.

No Kid Hungry

Find free meals near where you are.

Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry
848 Lake Street, Oak Park 60301 (basement of First United Church of Oak Park, enter thru parking lot)
Phone: 708-386-1324, ext. 107
Email: info@oprffoodpantry.org
Saturdays: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
1st Wednesday of month: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Wednesday of month: 3:30 – 500 pm
Clients select an allotment of food once a month; assistance with food stamp applications. Clients must reside within service boundaries and meet income guidelines set by the Illinois Emergency Food Assistance Program; photo ID and proof of residence.

Housing Forward
1851 S. Ninth Avenue, Maywood 60153
Phone: 708-338-1724 / 888-338-1744
Emergency homeless shelter, supportive services & housing, employment readiness and one-time homelessness prevention program.

Welcome to Fatherhood

Welcome to Fatherhood (WTF) empowers fathers and provides them with the resources, support, and knowledge to acquire the skills necessary to provide for their children and families. See what programming they offer for fathers. 

Oak Park MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)
at First Presbyterian Church, 7551 Quick Avenue, River Forest 60305
Email: oprfmops@gmail.com
Support for mothers of children birth – 5 years; provides a supportive “morning off” with craft projects, guest speakers, and fellowship from a Christian perspective; meets 9:00 – 11:00 am on the 1st & 3rd Fridays, September – May. Children participate in supervised activities; variable fee structure. Online chat forum also available.

Oak Park Women’s Guild
at The Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park 60301
Email: opwomensguild@gmail.com
Non-profit volunteer organization with a focus on community service as well as social opportunities. Meets 9:00 – 11:00 am, two Wednesdays per month September thru May. Babysitting provided for a small fee.

New Moms
405 S. Euclid Ave., Oak Park 60302
Phone: 773-252-3253
Email: contact@newmoms.org
New mothers group.
Family Support programs offer a wide range of service that utilize the Parents at Teachers model, which ensures that mothers become their child’s first, best teacher.  Services include – doula, prenatal education, home visiting and parenting education.

To learn about home visiting or to get connected to a home visiting program, vist our Maternal Health and Home Visiting Support page. To get connected, fill out the form on the bottom of that page. 

The Children’s Clinic
320 W. Lake Street, Oak Park 60302
Phone: 708-848-0528
Email: info@childrenscliniciws.org
Sponsored by Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society
Provides full range of medical services including nutritional screening and counseling. Provides mental health services including bilingual psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Available to low-income children (birth – age 18). Medicaid, All Kids, sliding fee scale. No child is refused care for inability to pay.

Fussy Baby Network at the Erikson Institute
Phone: 888-431-BABY
A variety of services including free parent support phone line, home visit program, English and Spanish support groups, and fussy baby clinic.

PCC Family Health Centers
14 W. Lake St., Oak Park 60302
6201 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn 60402
Phone: 708-383-0113 / 708-386-0845
Breasfeeding Support Line: 708-524-7679, ext. 1. Both PCC locations offer lactation consultation and home visits, breastfeeding peer-counseling program for PCC primary-care patients. Maternal depression support is available at both sites for PCC primary-care patients. Comprehensive health care for all ages, including prenatal care; accepts private insurance, Medicaid, All Kids, sliding fee scale discount program available for uninsured patients. Call for appointment. Behavioral health services include family and couples counseling. In order to receive behavioral health services, you must be a PCC primary-care patient.

The Children’s Clinic
320 W. Lake Street, Oak Park 60302
Phone: 708-848-0528
Email: info@childrenscliniciws.org
Sponsored by Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society
Provides full range of medical services including nutritional screening and counseling. Provides mental health services including bilingual psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Available to low-income children (birth – age 18). Medicaid, All Kids, sliding fee scale. No child is refused care for inability to pay.

Pillars
6918 Windsor Avenue, Berwyn 60402
6415 Stanley Avenue, Berwyn 60402
Phone: 708-386-2100 / 708-745-5277
24-Hour Domestic Violence Hotline: 708-485-5254
24-Hour Sexual Violence Hotline: 708-482-9600
Community mental health center offering a range of services including social services for children ages 2 – 17 and their families; child psychologist on staff; early childhood mental health; bereavement, crisis, individual and family counseling; (SASS); domestic violence shelter.

Thrive Counseling Center
120 S. Marion Street, Oak Park 60302
Phone: 708-383-7500
Email: admission@thrivecc.org
24-Hour Crisis Line: 708-383-7500
Community mental health center with 24-hour crisis line; sliding fee scale; parent, family, and youth (ages 12 – 18) counseling; drug & alcohol prevention programs; bullying and conflict prevention programs; youth anger management; client advocacy and case management; victim and witness assistance program.

Maternal Depression

Maternal depression (clinical depression that occurs during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth) affects as many as one in eight new mothers. Maternal depression is not the same thing as the “baby blues;” it is an illness that requires medical care and can be treated successfully. This illness impacts not only the mother, but the husband/partner, the baby, and the entire family unit.

For more information, the National Institute for Mental Health provides extensive information about maternal/postpartum depression.

Postpartum Progress, a non-profit organization, also has information and links to resources.

Healthcare Alternative Systems Inc. (HAS)
Phone: 773-292-4242
HAS offers a community-based treatment program for maternal depression in the Chicago metropolitan area; provides services in English and Spanish.

PCC Family Health Centers
14 W. Lake St., Oak Park 60302
6201 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn 60402
Phone: 708-383-0113 / 708-386-0845
Breastfeeding Support Line: 708-524-7679, ext. 1 Both PCC locations offer lactation consultation and home visits, breastfeeding peer counseling program for PCC primary-care patients. Maternal depression support is available at both sites for PCC primary-care patients. Comprehensive health care for all ages, including prenatal care; accepts private insurance, Medicaid, All Kids, sliding fee scale discount program available for uninsured patients. Call for an appointment. Behavioral health services include family and couples counseling. In order to receive behavioral health services, you must be a PCC primary-care patient.

Postpartum Depression Alliance of Illinois Helpline
Phone: 847-205-4455

New Moms
405 S. Euclid Ave., Oak Park 60302
Phone: 773-252-3253
Email: contact@newmoms.org
New mothers group.
Family Support programs offer a wide range of service that utilize the Parents as Teachers model, which ensures that mothers become their child’s first, best teacher.  Services include – doula, prenatal education, home visiting and parenting education.

TAPP (Teenage Parent Program)
at Oak Park – River Forest High School, 201 N. Scoville Avenue, Oak Park 60302
Phone: 708-434-3199 (Erin Graziano)
Email: egraziano@oprfhs.org
Provides care for children (6 weeks – 5 years) of teenage parents while they attend classes at OPRFHS; sliding fee scale. For more support for teenage parents, see listing for New Moms.