Teen Parent Connection
A Mutual Investment
Teen Parent Connection is an agency dedicated to educating and assisting adolescent parents in the development of their parenting skills, empowerment, and self-sufficiency.
Here are some highlights from our conversation with Becky Beilfuss, Executive Director.
How has our partnership helped Teen Parent Connection fulfill its mission?
CMF and Teen Parent Connection are mutually invested in improving the health of those who live and work in the western suburbs of Chicago. Responsive grant funding from the Foundation has made it possible for us to address long-standing community needs through innovative programming and evidence-based services.
Equally important is the Foundation’s exceptional leadership training. This training helped develop the expertise, knowledge, and strategic capability of our executive staff and board, and was instrumental in helping us create and implement a comprehensive fund development plan.
Teen Parent Connection continues to build its capacity as a trauma-informed organization. How do you incorporate mental health strategies into your programming?
Mental health strategies form the cornerstone of our program model. These strategies effectively address the barriers that prevent adolescent parents from accessing health services, while also strengthening the educational, emotional, and functional capacity of young families. Community Memorial Foundation’s support has allowed expansion of our individual and group-based therapeutic counseling, helping us serve nearly 1,800 individuals in CMF communities within the last year alone.
Describe the Foundation in three words.
Responsive, equitable, invested.
Our partnership with Community Memorial Foundation has been transformational. It is based on mutual respect, a shared vision, and a commitment to do the hard work that brings about change. We are not just partners – we are mutually invested stakeholders.
(select photos were taken prior to assuming social distancing measures)