Nicasa, Nfp

In partnership with Art Impact Project, residents at our community residential recovery halfway house, Bridge House, work on regular art therapy projects to help through their recovery process. This session focused on creating self-portraits so residents could reflect on their own self-image and understand how to view themselves positively and learn how to use positive coping skills to support their self-esteem.

We are truly grateful for the continued support and generosity of our community partner, Gratitude Generation, who helps make our Back to School drive at our Family Advocacy Center in North Chicago possible each year. Through their incredible efforts, they raised funds, gathered supplies, and packed 300 backpacks, 50 bye-bye boredom bags for children not old enough for school, as well as paper towels, Kleenex, and 25 graphing calculators. Not only did this ease the concerns of families who are struggling to make ends meet for food, housing, and medication, but it also gives the children a sense of pride and readiness to avoid instances of bullying and other negative interaction. Thanks to this partnership, we are able to set up 300 children for educational and emotional success each year!

Nicasa's Problem Gambling Outreach team educated students in North Chicago, IL as they get ready for back to school on how to spot the signs and symptoms of underage gambling, positive activities they can do instead, and ways to help educate others. Nicasa also engaged various high school youth at this event in our virtual room display where teens put on a virtual reality headset, look around a room for signs of a youth who may be gambling, and then learn about the items and signs along with ways to find help. Problem gambling has increased exponentially in IL in the last 5 years, especially with access via phones and tablets and the various options to engage in sports betting. This illness is the addiction with the highest suicide rate and it is highly stigmatized and misunderstood, leaving many without access to care. Nicasa's goal is outreach and prevention at an early age, educating youth on how to teach their peers about not engaging, and also being here to care for youth, emerging, youth, and the adults in their lives who need help leaving behind their problem gambling behaviors and finding a safe and stable life of recovery.

Supportive Meals COVID-19 has presented various challenges for Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, the clients and and communities we serve, our staff, and the entire world. One way Nicasa is working to protect those in need is by keeping the doors open and providing continuous services for substance abuse, mental health, problem gambling, parenting support, and more. One of our continued programs is our adult residential recovery halfway house, Bridge House. As many people lack positive resources and natural supports, Nicasa decided that all residents will remain in the programs, regardless of whether or not they are ready to be discharged. This way we can continue to ensure their safety by limiting their exposure to unsafe conditions, as well as making sure they do not enter into situations that will threaten their sobriety. Bridge House currently has 16 residents living in the home. As they cannot work or volunteer, everyone is isolated together, which means increased need for full and constant meals. Thankfully, various individuals, community groups, and organizations have supported our program by ensuring that meals are provided to our residents. Pictured above is 1 of 5 weeks of meals provided by Gratitude Generation, a local Lake County nonprofit with a goal of instilling gratitude into future generations via education and service. Thanks to G2 both Nicasa and Josh's (Northbrook, IL) benefited from the purchased meals. Bridge House has also been fortunate to receive a dinner from Portillos from Jim Snow, a Nicasa Board member, as well as the United Way of Lake County to help provide relief funding for one month of meals. Nicasa and its clients are forever grateful for this support, and the residents extremely fortunate to be considered in other people's thoughts as we all struggle through COVID-19 together.

Personal Protective Equipment Nicasa Behavioral Health Services has been so fortunate to receive various generous donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) as our programming remains open to our communities. Although almost all of our services are not provided via telehealth, we have been fortunate enough to provide our staff with PPE, as well as ensure we have various protections for the staff and residents within our adult residential recovery halfway house, Bridge House. Thank you to organizations, companies, and individuals who have donated everything from N95 masks to homemade reusable coverings. We're all in this together!