Balkan Outreach
Overview
The Edgewater Community Council is
a delegate agency of the City of Chicago’s Department of Aging to provide
services to immigrant seniors from the Balkans. Services include advocacy,
translation of documents, assisting in negotiating social service systems,
securing safe and affordable housing, and recreational and informational
activities.
Scope of Service
- Translation of documents and information flyers
- Providing seniors with assistance on subsidized housing
- Conducting weekly meetings with Balkan seniors on informational
subjects and/or social subjects
- Provide assistance to seniors on Public Safety and crime issues
- Assist seniors with access to social and legal assistance –
citizenship hearings, Public Aid and Social Security interviews, etc.
- Organize 2-3 social field trips per year
- Provide weekly sewing class at ECC on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m.
until noon
Program Needs
The Edgewater Community has the largest percentage of Balkan immigrants
in the City of Chicago – over 2,000 residents of Edgewater are immigrants from
the Balkan region.
Only since 1994, have elders
and persons with disabilities been permitted to come to the United States from
the Balkans without sponsoring or receiving families or organizations.
This issue established a unique group of seniors; individuals who have fled a
country to avoid persecution but have left behind their culture and have no
anchor in the new US environment.
These immigrants are still
overcoming the traumas of war, facing critical medical and psychological
problems, having little or no knowledge of English, and many having no close
family leads this group to be identified as special needs.
The support provided by the ECC
Balkan Outreach program provides them with a safety net and social group to
assist them into assimilating in the American culture.