Contact:   Jen Bartels, Executive Director, Y Safe 'n Sound Program 630.585.2207

NAPERVILLE, IL, (October 10, 2007) - The Heritage YMCA Group has been responsible for the Naperville Family Resource Center (NFRC) since 2003. The NFRC has been located at 400 E. Bailey Road since it opened in March of 1996 in response to a series of criminal and negative lifestyle behavior issues within the Naper Trails Apartment Complex. Naper Trails is classified as a Section 8 housing complex and residents generally represent ethnically diverse backgrounds and have low to moderate incomes. NFRC’s initial mission was to strengthen family and neighborhood resiliency and improve the lives of the residents by stabilizing the families though after-school programming, homework support, immunization services, educational and recreational opportunities, and prevention programs. This mission has been expanded by providing a wider range of resources for adult residents such as financial counseling, employment assistance, transportation coordination, computer training and literacy tutoring.

This past spring the Y was notified that their lease would not be renewed by the Board of Directors for the Naper Trails Apartment Complex. The Board of Directors is comprised of the owners of each of the apartment buildings. The City Manager, the Police Chief, the administrators of School District 203, representatives from the Community Housing Authority of DuPage and the YMCA met with the homeowner’s board to convey their support of the importance of the NFRC. The board did provide a temporary lease extension through September to provide time to secure a new facility.

Effective October 1^st, the NFRC program has a new home because School District 203 understood the value of the program and provided space for the Center. The NFRC is now based in a mobile classroom outside of Scott Elementary School. “This program is an example of our very best, values driven, mission-based work. If the school district had not opened up their doors we would not have been able to deliver this valuable program to kids and families in need. Our program is for the elementary school population and the focus more than ever at this site will be to advance the academic performance of the children attending. We are currently in need of and are looking for a new home for the junior and high school students who were displaced when the lease was not renewed,” explained YMCA President/CEO Tom Beerntsen.

The YMCA always welcomes individuals interested in volunteering as mentors and tutors for the students. The NFRC is dependent on broad-based community support. Partnerships include: School District 203, City of Naperville, Naperville Police Department, Naperville United Way, Naperville Patriots, Loaves and Fishes, Naperville Park District, NCO, Northern Illinois Food Bank, African American Leadership Roundtable, Western DuPage Special Recreation Association, the Exchange and Kiwanis Clubs and Citibank.