Vendors and Services at the 2019 LOVE Rockford Event
For those who would like a better understanding of the breadth and depth of services offered at LOVE Rockford, following is a list of the many vendors who participated in 2019 LOVE Rockford event. Those that provided information about their services are listed first; those that provided services onsite are listed second.
Information Presented During the LOVE Rockford Event
Employment
The Workforce Connection is an avenue for connecting job seekers to employers and vice versa. www.theworkforceconnection.org
Family and Individual Services
Carpenter’s Place assists the homeless in rebuilding their lives from the ground up, providing individualized case management, support and education groups, a housing program, employment assistance, and family-oriented services. Its Day Room provides a respite from the stresses of unmoored living, including breakfast and lunch, a shower, a change of clothing, telephone for appropriate local calls, a message service for appropriate messages, referrals, and positive conversation.
Child & Family Connections, part of the Illinois Dept. of Human Services, provides evaluations and assessments of infants and toddlers under 3 years old. Its mission is to provide developmental services for those who have a disability known to result in a 30-percent delay in any of the five developmental domains: adaptive, cognitive, communication, physical, and social-emotional.
Children’s Safe Harbor provides a safe place for families to use when exchanging children for visitation. It also provides supervised visitation services.
HomeStart is committed to creating vibrant, healthy communities in Northern Illinois by connecting people and families to beneficial, affordable housing resources and by leading community-based solutions to local challenges.
Literacy Council provides one-on-one sessions, small classes, and family-oriented sessions to help with reading and writing for English speakers and English as a second language. Also available are computer classes that cover basic operations, resume building, and job searching.
Lifescape Community Services provides resources and assistance for keeping older adults nutritionally healthy, independent, connected and informed. Lifescape empowers older adults to choose lives of independence and dignity.
Motherhouse Crisis Nursery lends support to families when they are faced with a crisis such as homelessness, domestic violence, medical emergencies, joblessness or substance abuse. Motherhouse provides both immediate help as well as longer term intervention and prevention to help stabilize the family. Central to the program is Crisis Child Care, which provides a safe haven for children when their families are unable to care for them in times of crisis.
YWCA USA strives to eliminate racism and and empower women. It strives for racial justice and civil rights, increasing equal protection and equal opportunity for people of color. It stands for empowerment and economic advancement, increasing economic opportunities for women and girls of color. It also focuses on health and safety, improving the lot of women and girls of color
Food Distribution and Meal Service
Miss Carly’s provides hot lunches, served in a private home, three days a week for those in need. No forms, no requirements, and no sass (except from Miss Carly, on occasion).
Northern Illinois Food Bank Mobile Pantry makes weekly stops in communities throughout the region. Free groceries without a sign-up or a referral.
Health and Wellbeing
Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness, an agency of SwedishAmerican, is dedicated to making it easier for patients to get care that helps them feel their best, from preventive services like school physicals and flu shots, to ongoing treatment for chronic diseases. Aunt Martha’s reaches beyond traditional medicine, integrating all of the services and resources into a single seamless experience, including healthcare, financial advice, and social services.
Crusader Community Health is a federally qualified health center that offers affordable, high-quality medical and dental care for all.
Oak Street Health handles everything from medical, social, and even behavioral health for patients on Medicare. Its doctors, well-versed in internal medicine, geriatric medicine, and family medicine, connect patients to the right programs and resources for them.
Winnebago County Health Department will demonstrate the administration of naloxone, better known by its trade name, NARCAN®, a nasal spray that works to reverse an opioid overdose
Financial Assistance
Illinois State Treasury distributes miscellaneous unclaimed funds to those in need.
Legal Advocacy
Home Care Ombudsman, an agency within the Ill. Dept. on Aging, seeks to protect the rights of adults with disabilities
Justice for our Neighbors of Illinois provides legal assistance to Spanish-speaking immigrants regarding asylum, immigration, and naturalization services, including U-Visas (for victims of crimes)
Prairie State Legal Services offers free legal services for low income persons and those age 60 and over who have serious civil legal problems and need legal help to solve them.
Medical Insurance
The following medical insurance providers will be on-hand to discuss medical insurance plans and sign up new participants:
Aetna Better Health® of Illinois, https://www.aetnabetterhealth.com
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, www.bcbsil.com
MeridianHealth of Illinois, https://corp.mhplan.com/en/member/illinois/meridianhealthplan
Molina Healthcare of Illinois, www.molinahealthcare.com
Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. An association of more than 500 local affiliates, NAMI works in communities to raise awareness and provide support and education not otherwise available to those in need.
Rosecrance Mulberry Center provides two programs, Triage and its Crisis Residential Unit, for individuals experiencing a psychiatric crisis. The goal of both programs is to prevent unnecessary hospitalization or incarceration of individuals in crisis by providing rapid assessment, stabilization and referral to the appropriate level of care. Rosecrance representatives will be onsite to offer triage services.
Stepping Stones of Rockford provides residential mental health services for those with serious, persistent mental illness. Stepping Stones is dedicated to helping its clients navigate potential stumbling blocks of mental illness, advancing toward recovery, one step at a time.
Services Available During the LOVE Rockford Event
Health and Wellbeing
Mercyhealth, a local health care services provider, is on site to provide foot exams, a critical service for the homeless.
OSF Healthcare Saint Anthony Medical Center will provide glucose and cholesterol screenings and
Rockford Career College provides blood pressure checks, three central components for wellbeing and, for many without regular medical checkups, the first three crucial steps in seeking the medical care they need.
Lunch and Entertainment
No mid-day event would be complete without a lunch. Take a break, join us for a hot lunch, and enjoy and some live music.
Ready to Get Back to Work?
If you’re ready to get back into the workforce, we have a trio of services for you.
—Get a haircut
—Pick out some clothing
—Get some help with a résumé
Ready to Ride?
If you’re ready to go but your bicycle isn’t, bring your bike to the event. Kegel’s Bicycle Store will provide tuneups and repairs for attendees’ bicycles.
Pampering
Interested in a massage? Take some time out for yourself during the LOVE Rockford event.