Two musicians from Off Square Music will perform folk and pop selections from 4:30 to 5:50 p.m. today, Feb. 15, at the Lake-McHenry Veterans and Family Services Drop-in Center, 5330 W. Elm St. in McHenry.
Keith Johnson and Don Humbertson will entertain guests of the Drop-in Center during a monthly food distribution project organized through Transitional Living Services and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Johnson, director of Off Square Music, also is the manager of the Woodstock Farmers Market.
An Air Force veteran himself, Johnson reminds veterans and their families that their Illinois LINK food stamp card will offer double value for the first $15 purchase of fresh produce at the Woodstock Farmers Market, which will reopen in May.
Each month, a truck rolls into the parking lot at the Drop-in Center with enough meat, produce, and other staples to feed approximately 125 families, said Kevin Russell, case manager for the Lake-McHenry Veterans project funded through a federal grant.
Terms of the grant stipulate that veterans and their families guide the development of behavioral health services for veterans and their families. The grant calls for training community providers on the latest and most effective methods of treatment for trauma, especially trauma caused by war.
Others areas of attention include military sexual abuse, the reduction of military stigma in the pursuit of behavioral health services, and the establishment of a veterans' court to deflect incarceration. Major goals include reduction of veteran homelessness, suicide prevention, and reduction of hospitalizations. The grant also requires an outreach component that promotes early intervention and the principles of recovery.
For other information about the Lake-McHenry Veterans and Family Services project, call Kevin Russell at 815-322-2620 or call Barbara Iehl at 815-455-2828.
