Health Care: Social Health

Prevention Services

To continue the change for a healthier tomorrow through mental health awareness and community engagement, we work tirelessly to prevent and reduce alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use and stop suicide.

Lake County’s SAFE (Supporting Addiction Free Environments) Coalition

Our coalition members consist of both individuals and organizations that make up our three pillars, Prevention (Education), Support (Treatment & Intervention), and Accountability (Law Enforcement & Legislation). Active coalition members are eligible to apply for funding to combat drug and alcohol misuse or abuse.

Evidence-Based Strategies

To build safe and healthy communities that reduce substance misuse and promote mental health awareness, Prevention Services administers numerous state and federal grants. Each grant has specific goals, strategies and communities for implementation. Due to COVID-19, dollars dedicated to face-to-face services were redirected to paid advertising campaigns, thus increasing audience reach.

Family Services

Each year family service programs at Geminus reach thousands of Hoosiers in Lake County, providing critical social service resources to support local children and families.

Community Partners

For families seeking to manage obstacles such as job loss, behavioral issues, domestic violence, addiction and other concerns, Community Partners provides assistance including job counseling, parenting classes and advice on how to make use of local community services that help keep families healthy, happy, and together. Last year, through its programs and events, Community Partners reached:

Circle Around Families (CAF)

Families with children exhibiting emotional and behavioral problems, who are at risk of placement outside the home, are supported through a cross system of care with individualized care plans to help support the child and family. Children are referred by the Lake County Juvenile Justice Court System and the Indiana Department of Child Services.

Real Fathers Initiative

To increase the involvement of fathers’ roles in the lives of their children, we focus on teaching fathers how to be effective parents and how to engage with their children. With counseling on an educational, vocational and family planning level, participants also collaborate with a family advocate to assist with housing, transportation, employment assistance and visitation with children, and more.

Abuse Intervention Management

As the only state-certified batterers intervention program in Lake County serving men and women, participants receive both one-on-one counseling and group counseling by a certified domestic violence therapist. We work to keep children and families safe in a healthy environment to begin the process for change.

Truancy Prevention Program

To assist families dealing with truancy issues, we partner with Lake County school corporations to address challenges before they escalate to the county juvenile court system and the Indiana Department of Child Services.

Older Youth Services

This program improves outcomes for children placed in foster care. Clients are taught skills to become self-sufficient and receive help enrolling in college, finding a place to live, looking for a job and more.

Family Preservation

This program partners with Regional Health Systems to provide eligible families with services and skills that reduce out-of-home placement of their children.

Lake County Emergency Rental Assistance

The program, funded by the U.S Treasury and the Lake County Redevelopment Commission, aims to decrease evictions and prevent homelessness for Lake County renters whose income was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early Learning Services

As providers of early childhood education, we know that all child care is early learning. The demand for access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education in Indiana is so much greater than the current availability. That’s why Geminus’s early learning services are so important. We not only help increase access to affordable, quality early childhood education, we also empower parents to become advocates and participants in their child’s education.

Supporting Families, Young Children and our Communities (CCRR)

Our community-based, Child Care Resource and Referral program provides professional support to families, programs, employers and community partners in Northern Indiana.

Support Services for Child Care Providers (TA/Spark)

Geminus provides technical assistance and support services to family child care providers throughout Indiana. SPARK Learning Lab is a statewide partnership with Shine Early Learning, the Erickson Institute, Geminus and other partners. This effort supports early childhood programs in meeting Indiana’s regulatory requirements and improving provider’s professional development paths.

Daily Bread

Specifically geared towards increasing a child’s access to nutritious meals while in child care, Daily Bread reimburses child daycare homes and centers with funding from USDA Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Daily Bread ensures child care homes and centers meet CACFP standards for enrolled children and provides training in menu planning and preparation as well as sanitation and administration.

Head Start

Head Start, our longest running early childhood education program, is Northwest Indiana’s leader in early childhood education—making positive impacts on families, children, and staff through creative partnerships that inspire personal growth, foster empowerment and provide quality comprehensive services for all. We make it convenient for families to access quality early learning and social services. For more info view our 2019 Head Start Annual Report.

• Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) served 25 locations throughout Lake and Porter counties in FY 2022
• Child Care Partnership Program served in 14 locations throughout Lake and Porter counties in FY 2022