Why Give to CCCOC?

by E. Susanne Francis-Thornton, Psy.D.- Executive Director

Beloved, let us love one another for love comes from God. (I John 4:7)

How are we called to love one another? How do we at CCCOC love our fellow person?

Today a principal with whom we worked contacted me with a referral of a new student Kim* whose enrolment is contingent upon her seeking emotional support through therapy. Kim is 19 years old; has been out of school for a year; has few credits; is from a refugee family that is scattered in several states; and is a teen mother. About a year ago, Kim left home and tried living with other family members in another state. When that placement failed, Kim took her child and came to Chicago where she has no family or other support. Kim found help through an agency that services one of the most destitute refugee populations in Chicagoland by providing tutoring and small school scholarships. When Kim expressed an interest in wanting to complete her education, the agency referred her to the school.

Kim’s ambitions are admirable however, unless she is provided the support to deal with her past, and current situation, Kim’s likelihood of accomplishing her goals is slim. However, with Kim having no financial resources of her own and the agency she is working with having limited resources themselves, affording therapy is impossible. With over 40% of our clients on our sliding fee scale, taking on cases such as Kim’s result CCCOC loosing over $6,000 month in revenue. By providing opportunities to the “Kim’s” in our community, we at CCCOC are following Christ’s command to love each other. However, we are we are as limited to provide this hope to the underserved as our donations are.

Here’s where you come in. At CCCOC we strive to be Christ’s agent of healing through providing hope and emotional healing to all those in need. In turn, we help others become well and as they get healthy their relationships around them become healthier and ultimately we have a healthier community. We cannot provide this gift of hope and healing without your help in the following 3 levels.

1. Funds. Our ability to provide services to those who otherwise couldn’t afford it is directly tied to the amount of donations we receive, so we are as limited to providing services as we are to the donations we receive. Please consider what you can give personally and think of people you know who would want to donate funds to provide services to others.
2. Referrals. We have an excellent service to provide to clients of all economic statuses. However, if people don’t know about us, there is no bridge from our service to their need. We need you to tell others, that includes pastors, physicians, teachers, other therapists and anyone else who can serve as a bridge between the service we provide and clients in need of those services.
3. Networking. We need those who have heard about us, to be interested in spreading the word about us to others who would benefit from knowing we exist and the services we provide. We also need you to continue to tell others about us!

Together we can love one another and build relationships that ultimately build a healthy community!

*Name and other identifying information have been altered to maintain confidentiality.

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