Medical/Health and Wellness Resources
Boyton Street Community Center
Boyton Street Community Center in Marion provides children and their families opportunities for fun, learning, development and building self-esteem. The Center collaborates with local social service agencies to provide a variety of programs and services year-round. Programs at the Boyton Street Community Center include:
- Nutritious meals built around keeping kids fit and healthy
- An after-school program for children and youth in K-12
- Summer art, recreation, reading and tutoring programs
- Special events
For more information or to learn how to enroll in a program, contact the Boyton Street Community Center at (618) 997-1113.
Traveling with a child with medical complexity can be challenging. Brades’ Place provides tips, tools and templates to help parents with children with specialized healthcare needs plan and create memorable family travel experiences.
The site also provides diagnosis resources for certain conditions.
Brave Health Online Mental Health Services
Brave Health provides online mental health services and accepts more than 200 insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare. Physicians, nurse practitioners, therapists and counselors with specialized training in mental health care provide care virtually in English and Spanish. Services include one-on-one and group therapy sessions, medication management, specialized programs and help managing complex medical and behavioral health challenges for adults and youth ages 13 and up.
Brave Health has a closed-loop referral process and also accepts patients who do not have insurance. Patients, referrers and providers can visit Brave Health’s website for information on how to get started and other resources.
Bridges to a New Day provides counseling, intervention and educational services to foster non-violence in the lives of children and adults. Telehealth and in-person services are available.
For more information, please call (815) 838-2690. The best time to call is Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bright by Text is a free text messaging service that delivers high-quality information to families to help them foster a child’s healthy growth, based on their exact age and developmental stage.
Available in English and Spanish, the service covers children from prenatal through age 8. Topics covered include brain development, speech and language skills, social-emotional development, reading and writing skills, nutrition, mental health, school readiness, and more.
All information is provided by trusted content partners, including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sesame Street, PBS Kids for Parents, and Zero to Three.
Families can sign up by texting BRIGHT to 274448, or by using the form on the Bright by Text website. Text messages are customized by the child’s due date or age and zip code.
Bright Futures is a national child health initiative focused on prevention and health promotion for infants, children, adolescents and their families.
The Bright Futures website provides a number of resources for children, teens and families and information to help families build a strong partnership with their healthcare providers.
Brightpoint (formerly Children’s Home & Aid)
Brightpoint provides a wide range of programs statewide to help families and their children navigate challenges and focus on preventing problems before they become life-altering crises. Its programs include:
- Mental health and wellness
- Parenting support and family services
- Early childhood care and education
- Workforce development and youth programs
- Foster care
Learn about specific Brightpoint programs offered in counties throughout Illinois.
You can also send a message to Brightpoint to learn more.
Started as Children’s Home & Aid, Brightpoint Centers are located in Bloomington, Carpentersville, Englewood, Palatine and Schaumburg.
Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation
The Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation provides financial assistance to people of all ages with spinal cord injury and neurological disorders. It also offers funding for medical research. Financial assistance includes post-high school education scholarships and charitable grants to help pay for items such as van modifications, wheelchairs and ramps.
The foundation awards scholarships annually. It reviews charitable grants quarterly in January, March, June, and September. Wisconsin residents receive priority. Individuals anywhere in the United States may receive financial assistance depending on available funds. For program applications and more information, visit:
Camp Erin Grief Support Online
Eluna’s Camp Erin Online provides an intentional space for children and their families to connect, find support and remember the people in their lives who have died. Camp Erin Online focuses on helping families find meaningful support as they move through grief using creative outlets such as:
- Painting
- Music
- Mindfulness
- Movement
- Photography
To attend Camp Erin Online events and programs, fill out an application online.
Camp Erin Overnight Grief Camp
Camp Erin Chicago is part of a national bereavement program for youth grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. Free for all families, Camp Erin combines traditional, fun camp activities with grief education and emotional support for children and teens ages 6 to 17 years old.
Camp Erin Chicago takes place in Delavan, Wisc., in July. Registration usually opens in December for the following summer. If you are interested in enrolling your child or family in Camp Erin, please email Camp Director Bryan Heidel at bheidel@nush.org, or call (773) 569.9553.