Indiana’s Boys & Girls Clubs Partner with UChicago

The University of Chicago Medicine and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana (BGCGNWI) have announced a new partnership to boost mental health resources and social supports for the youth served by BGCGNWI. This collaboration will positively impact more than 5,000 members in 10 clubs across Northwest Indiana’s Lake and Porter counties, with a strong focus on efforts to support healthy kids.

As part of a $300,000, three-year investment, UChicago Medicine will fund two full-time social worker positions to enhance BGCGNWI’s Social and Emotional Programming. These youth programs focus on early detection and intervention strategies to address mental health challenges, trauma, grief, sexual and physical abuse, and the unique needs of neurodivergent youth, including those with autism.

The partnership was initiated as UChicago Medicine prepared to open its largest offsite facility in Crown Point, which launched in spring 2024.

“With the opening of our state-of-the-art care center in Crown Point this past April, UChicago Medicine welcomes the opportunity to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana to strengthen mental health and educational resources for Northwest Indiana youth and families,” said Amy Ross, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer for UChicago Medicine. “Working together, we can bring more resources to more people, growing the programs that are making a meaningful difference in people’s lives and well-being.”

The partnership also includes trauma-informed training for BGCGNWI staff to better support programming for youth and families. UChicago Medicine’s expertise in trauma care, particularly through its Violence Recovery Program and associated mental health services, plays a key role in this initiative.

“Today’s youth face a number of unique and unprecedented challenges, which makes it more important than ever to ensure they have the proper resources and support to help them reach their full potential,” shared Mike Jessen, President and CEO at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana. “Our long-term transformative partnership with University of Chicago Medicine allows us to significantly enhance our Social and Emotional Wellness youth programming to do just that. Together, we are committed to improving the health and wellness of our Club kids and paving the way for them to become productive, responsible, and caring citizens.”

To further support healthy kids, UChicago Medicine will match all donations to BGCGNWI dollar for dollar, up to $100,000, during the Return to Learn campaign, running from September 12-26, 2024.

UChicago Medicine Crown Point, which opened on April 29, 2024, is located at I-65 and 109th Avenue and features a comprehensive range of services, including cancer care, an ambulatory surgery center, inpatient beds, and an emergency room. The facility also offers access to UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital specialists, providing care in fields like digestive diseases, heart and vascular care, neuroscience, and orthopaedic surgery. At 132,000 square feet, the center is UChicago Medicine’s largest offsite facility.

More than 110,000 patients are expected to use the Crown Point care center annually. UChicago Medicine’s market assessment revealed that around 15% of Northwest Indiana patients travel outside the region for medical care, with one in five of those patients visiting UChicago Medicine’s facilities in Chicago and nearby suburbs.