On any given day, families leave the Highwood Library and Community Center with more than books — they leave with support to help them get by.
The library’s new weekly grocery-distribution program, which launched in March, builds on the library’s mission to meet urgent needs, from food access to bilingual counseling to long-term support.
Laura Ramirez, executive director of Highwood Library & Community Center, said food insecurity is one of the biggest issues facing the Highwood community.
The program, which Ramirez said is made possible via private funding, offers a weekly bag of groceries to families dealing with food insecurity. The service can be used in addition to the community’s existing food pantry.
Groceries include basics like eggs, milk, chicken, tortillas, and, when available, veggies, fruits and canned items.
Families visit when the library opens around noon to grab groceries for the week. Each family can grab one bag per week.
Ramirez said the library can serve 15 families a day — “That’s 90 families a week,” she said.
The library also keeps a food pantry that includes nonperishable items from St. James Food Pantry in Highwood’s Christ Our Hope Church.
St. James Food Pantry is open every Thursday afternoon, and any food that is remaining on Fridays goes to the library. That rescued food is offered every day at the library. Usually, individuals stuff a bag of pantry items — which include toiletries thanks to the Friends of the Highwood Library & Community Center — in addition to their weekly groceries.
“The groceries and food pantry items are the biggest initiatives the library is doing to address food insecurity in the community,” Ramirez said, adding, “Our model in the library is to respond to the needs of our community and these are some of the ways we do that.”
Another significant need in Highwood is for mental health support, according to Ramirez.
In addition to food, the Highwood library since 2022 has provided bilingual (Spanish and English) counseling and case management services as part of their health equity department.
“These services have been able to help individuals to navigate healthcare systems, to receive the support they need, and help their families thrive,” Ramirez said.
Offering the services in multiple languages has filled a need in the area.
“For community members to have access to counseling in their language is transformational,” she said. “We have individuals who, due to lack of insurance or English inaptitude, don’t have access to the counseling and mental health services they need.”
Ramirez added, “Being able to provide that in a safe space here at the library, where there isn’t a stigma attached, has made it a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to address that need with our team.”
Yenny Avila, health equity manager of the library, told The Record in an email that the library has provided 2,000 free counseling sessions “addressing stress, anxiety, depression and trauma through a strengths-based approach using bilingual and culturally responsive providers.”
Counseling services have become more important in the wake of the 2022 Highland Park shooting, survivors of which continue to seek support.
“Within the last three months, we’ve had three individuals who were survivors of the shooting, who have never reached out for counseling, now make their needs known,” Ramirez said. “It continues to be something that people are still trying to work out.”
The library also works with “hundreds” of individuals, Ramirez said, through case management.
Individuals can meet with a case manager to address significant medical bills, access to healthcare, struggles with online forms, or feelings of stress from other presenting needs.
The library’s counseling, case management and health equity services reportedly are made possible via private grants.
The library also has a team of digital navigators who offer assistance with technology. They provide six weeks of training, and by the end of the training, individuals may leave with a laptop or tablet, a program funded via a Lake County grant.
Other library services include: bilingual infant/toddler storytime, a tween/teen department with a maker space, after-school tutoring and more.
Diana Guerrero, a Highwood resident and communications and development manager at the library, is raising her daughter in the community and feels good about her visiting the library.
“There’s been a lot of need for having a space in Highwood where children can come and be safe,” Guerrero said. “And just knowing that there is a space where youth can come and get encouragement is so good.”
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