Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook meets suburban youth where they are
Fact checked by Catherine Gianaro
At Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook, therapy doesn’t always look like you’d typically imagine: the neutral-toned room, with a therapist’s chair facing a beige couch. Often, therapists turn to alternative approaches including play, music, and art.
“The demand for specialized, yet affordable mental health services is the highest it has ever been,” says Executive Director Amy O’Leary. “Referrals to our agency skyrocketed during the pandemic and have not decreased since. Social media and technology, peer pressure and bullying, academic stress, lack of access to mental health providers and resources, and various systemic issues such as parental divorce or separation are many but not all contributing factors to today’s mental health crisis.”
Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook has existed for more than half a century, the result of a 1992 merger between two similar agencies, one serving Glenview (founded in 1971) and the other serving Northbrook (founded in 1974). Its facility, built on land donated by the Village of Glenview on the former Glenview Naval Air Station property, dates from 2004.
The organization supports children and teens who are experiencing depression, anxiety, bullying, stress, grief and loss, and suicidal ideation. Licensed professional counselors and social workers provide in-person or virtual therapy, encouraging children and teens to make and reach goals, develop effective coping skills, and build an emotional vocabulary to identify their concerns.
A building to match its mission
Youth Services currently is running a campaign to raise funds to renovate its building. The building will reopen in January 2025; programs will continue to take place at offsite locations until then.
The Act Now Campaign, which launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, has raised $7 million of its $8.5 million goal so far and received its largest donor gift, $2 million, courtesy of the Cabay family of Northfield.
Donors Barb Cabay and her husband Mike Cabay, Act Now Campaign co-chairs, raised their family in Glenview. At the groundbreaking this past July, Mike Cabay talked about his involvement with Youth Services, with which he has worked for more than two decades. “We’ve seen firsthand the incredible efforts,” he said. “However, no plan could have really prepared us for what we experienced from a challenge standpoint of Covid.”
When Covid-19 lockdowns began in March 2020, many children felt isolated and confused while sheltering in place amid adapting to remote learning.
Cabay, recalling the urgency then, spoke about his thought process. “‘We’ve got to do something, and let’s do it now,’” he remembered thinking.
Youth Services is part of a local crisis-response network and works with local schools. It does not turn anyone away based on whether they can pay, and people come from across Chicagoland communities for services.
“An open dialogue is key,” O’Leary says. “Regularly checking in with kids and students is also helpful, and when in doubt, reach out. School counselors, pediatricians, or your local community mental health agency is a great place to start.”
Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook is located temporarily at the Northfield Township Office, 2550 Waukegan Road, in Suite 200 in Glenview. To support, visit ysgn.org or mail your donation to 3080 W. Lake Ave., Glenview, Illinois, 60026.
Above photo courtesy of Youth services of Glenview/Northbrook
Originally published in the Fall 2024/Winter 2025 print issue.
Karie Angell Luc is a multimedia journalist with photography awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Chicago Journalists Association, as well as awards from the Northern Illinois News Association and Illinois Press Association. Karie takes her passion for health reporting beyond journalism; she’s a vaccine immunizer and maintains active Illinois licensure plus pharmacy technician PTCB certification.
