EMHS, through The Kedzie Center and LoSAH Center of Hope, are working to provide care and resources in this time of crisis. Here's how you can help...

EMHS, through The Kedzie Center and LoSAH Center of Hope, are working to provide care and resources in this time of crisis. Here's how you can help... image

By now, you've likely seen photos documenting the violence affecting our neighborhoods in recent months. We have been steadily responding to the needs of families, community partners, leaders, and neighbors. As a small team, we depend on you—our partners—to help us reach those who are being directly and relentlessly impacted.

We are providing therapy for those experiencing chronic stress and fear, supporting emergency planning, creating virtual spaces for parents, offering activities and mental health resources for children, holding in-person support circles for helpers, and collaborating with partners to stay strong and informed amid ongoing distress. We know the levels of stress, fear, and trauma call for responsive, compassionate care, and like all of you, we are doing our best to tend to ourselves as we care for others.

This Giving Tuesday we are launching our End of Year giving campaign through December 31. This season of giving arrives at a time when our neighborhoods are carrying more strain, fear, and uncertainty than we have seen in years.

Across Albany Park, Irving Park, Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa, families have been navigating frightening and destabilizing moments—unexpected separations, sudden detentions, loss of childcare, and households upended overnight. When these moments occur, the impact is felt widely. Truly, no one in our community has been left untouched by the fear, uncertainty, and grief of the past several weeks.

One small moment speaks to this: a young boy standing in a grocery store aisle, calling to ask how to tell cilantro from parsley. His question wasn’t about herbs—it was about a family suddenly thrown into crisis in which he must take on roles he's never had to like grocery shopping, walking his siblings to and from school, and running family errands. Stories like this remind us just how deeply these events disrupt the emotional and physical safety of our neighbors.

At the same time, reductions in food supports have placed additional strain on families already stretched thin. When essentials like food, rent, and childcare become unstable, stress compounds. For many, this becomes the chronic wear-and-tear that weighs on both the body and mind.

We share this because it speaks to the reality our community members are carrying today. And today, we have a chance to respond together.

We’re launching our Giving Tuesday campaign with a $25,000 year-end goal, strengthened by a generous $10,000 matching gift.


Every dollar donated this morning will be doubled until the match is met.

Your Giving Tuesday gift will provide:

  • Emergency financial assistance for families in crisis
  • Crisis-responsive therapy for individuals, children, and families
  • Parent and caregiver support groups
  • Workshops and healing spaces for helpers, leaders, and those supporting others
  • Immediate stabilization resources to help families regain a sense of safety

If you are looking to support those on the ground providing care during this crisis, please consider making a donation. Your partnership strengthens our mission to provide community-rooted mental health care. Your support today ensures that when families feel most afraid, they are met with stability, connection, and community.


With gratitude,
Expanded Mental Health Services of Chicago