A safe haven
for children & families
Get Involved
Volunteers are always needed to help with childcare, educational programs, housekeeping, maintenance, and special occassions.
Every Month
An average of 25 children need our help. With your help we can provide services to children and families in crisis.
GiveUp to GiveBack
What are you willing to give up to give back?
A shopping trip?
A cup of coffee?
A movie ticket?
Make A Real Change In Someone’s Life
How You Can Help
Advocate
Advocating for The Night’s Shield helps ensure children receive shelter, food and innovative services to help them succeed in a nurturing environment.
Volunteer
Volunteering for The Night’s Shield provides children and families with nurturing community resources, YOU! It gives the community a chance to learn about our programs and teaches the children the impact and importance volunteers provide.
Donate
While we are able to provide shelter, food and basic needs for our residents, it is financially challenging to provide extra activities that nourish their mental and physical health. It is through donations and fundraising efforts that we are able to provide additional services and activities for children and families.
Night’s Shield Homeless Youth Program
Starting in 2021, Night’s Shield will be offering Homeless Youth Services in a collaboration with DHS. This
program will serve youth from their 14th birthday until their 24th birthday. There are 3 components
which Night’s Shield will be rolling out over the start of the new year.
First, Night’s Shield will have outreach. This is getting into the Southern IL community and identifying
young people who need assistance finding housing, getting a job, enrolling in an educational or other
training program, etc. Night’s Shield will assist in identifying and obtaining any services the youth needs
to be healthy and successful.
The second component is transitional living. This is for young people legally able to live on their own.
Transitional Living (or TLP) helps these youth obtain an apartment, employment, education, skills
development, needed services and entitlements. Our goal is to help these youth gain independence, feel
confident, and reach sustainable living on their own.
The final aspect of the Homeless Youth Service is temporary shelter. This will roll out around February
1st. This will provide homeless shelter services to young people in a safe, positive environment for up to
120 days. During that time, we will work with youth to find permanent housing, employment, school or
training services. Night’s Shield is very excited to start offering this program and to continue our mission
of serving youth in southern Illinois!
Family Advocacy Center
Our current focus is our Family Advocacy Center program, which offers a variety of services to help strengthen families and relationships in our communities including:
Case Management & Client Advocacy
Life Skills/Coaching
Parenting classes/groups
Family Store – food and clothing assistance
Community Outreach
Computer Lab
Our Mission & History
Our mission is to provide a safe haven to children, especially sibling groups, who are in crisis. For over 12 years, we’ve worked directly with children who have been victims of abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect. We’ve also worked on the prevention side, providing care for children who are at a significant risk of becoming victims of child abuse. Through shelter and support, we minimize loss and strengthen the children for the road that lies ahead of them.
Safe Haven To Children
With the support of our wonderful community, The Night’s Shield has provided over 19,000 nights of care to over 1400 children ages 0 to 18 from the entire state of Illinois. In addition, we have helped provide food, clothing, formula, diapers and other household needs to families in crisis within our local communities.
Prevention
We’ve also worked on the prevention side, providing care for children who are at a significant risk of becoming victims of child abuse. Through shelter and support, we minimize loss and strengthen children for the road that lies ahead of them.
Thank You to Our Partners & Sponsors
Make a Difference
By Donating Today!
