Healthy Communities Foundation awarded Gads Hill Center with a multi-year grant that will provide support to help more than 7,500 people across the west and south sides of Chicago. The support from the Healthy Communities Foundation will allow Gads Hill Center to address the needs of the communities it serves by expanding mental health services both in-school and out-of-school, addressing interrupted learning through after-school enrichment programs, providing resources to address food insecurity and evictions, bridging the digital divide by providing computers and internet access, and promoting the health and well-being of residents through resources and educational campaigns.

Gads Hill Center CEO, Maricela Garcia said “We are grateful for the generous grant from the Healthy Communities Foundation to support the economic and social-emotional recovery of the low-income families that we serve. The solid understanding about the impact of the organizations that the Healthy Communities Foundation funds and the partnership they establish with their grantees are a model for effective philanthropy.” Gads Hill Center mental health therapists reported that children and youth demonstrate heightened symptoms of depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and social isolation and are not meeting developmental stages. Students are exhibiting significantly higher levels of suicidal ideation, cutting, panic attacks, low motivation, poor coping skills, and hopelessness. From July 2020 through June 2021, nine of ten students experienced an increase in the severity of their symptoms and four of five students experienced new symptoms separate from their primary diagnosis.