Full Text of HR0369 98th General Assembly
HR0369 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the staff, board of | 4 | | directors, and volunteers of Links North Shore Youth Health | 5 | | Service on the occasion of the organization's 40th anniversary; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In the wake of the cultural changes of the late | 8 | | 1960s, local social service agencies were seeing more teens | 9 | | dealing with issues related to sexuality, and there were few | 10 | | resources available; responding to these emerging community | 11 | | needs, a group of community leaders including clergy, | 12 | | physicians, and local professionals decided to act; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Links - North Shore Youth Health Service opened | 14 | | its doors on May 7, 1973 as a reproductive health care clinic | 15 | | in the basement of Northfield's Josselyn Center; it moved into | 16 | | its current space in Northfield in 1986; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, While Links was initially offered to young women | 18 | | in high school, it has expanded over the years; in 1997, a | 19 | | separate clinic for young men was opened, which provides | 20 | | testing and treatment for the most common sexually transmitted | 21 | | infections; Links now provides services for teens and young | 22 | | adults up to age 25; between 500 and 600 clients a year go to |
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| 1 | | Links for services ranging from reproductive health care to | 2 | | counseling; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Links' Community Education program began in 1974 | 4 | | with "Links on Wheels", a program where trained volunteers gave | 5 | | educational presentations about birth control and "venereal | 6 | | disease" to young people through schools and community groups; | 7 | | today, the Community Education Program offers 15 different | 8 | | programs to grades 5-12, covering responsible decision-making, | 9 | | healthy relationships, stress management, and practical issues | 10 | | such as the prevention of substance abuse, acquaintance rape, | 11 | | sexually transmitted infections, and unplanned pregnancy; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, The Pride Youth Program, which provides support | 13 | | and education for teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, | 14 | | or transgender (LGBT), was founded in 1993 after a local high | 15 | | school student pointed out that there were no community | 16 | | services available to address the needs of this population; the | 17 | | Pride Youth Program now reaches over 200 LGBT youth a year, | 18 | | with weekly meetings in Northfield, Palatine, Evanston, and | 19 | | Gurnee; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, From its tenuous beginnings, Links has | 21 | | transformed into a highly regarded community resource, where | 22 | | its 3 programs serve nearly 12,000 teens and young adults each | 23 | | year; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 | | we congratulate the staff, board of directors, and volunteers | 4 | | of Links on the occasion of the organization's 40th anniversary | 5 | | and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; | 6 | | and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to Links as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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