The Mission of the Howard Area Community Center is to assist low-income individuals and families in Rogers Park to stabilize their lives and to develop the social skills necessary to become effective community members. Rogers Park is located in the far northeastern corner of Chicago and is rich in cultural and economic diversity. By offering a wide variety of services and educational opportunities, HACC is a stabilizing force in the neighborhood. Howard Area Community Center serves about 5,000 individuals, from infants to senior citizens, annually.

Description:
Our programs include: Social Services, Adult Education and Employment, Early Childhood, Early Head Start, State Pre-K, Healthy Families, an Alternative High School, a Dental Clinic for persons with HIV/AIDS, and a Youth program which provides a Computer Clubhouse and after-school tutoring and activities for grade school and high school students.

History:
HACC is a community-based multi-service agency that began as an outpost of a Rogers Park church in 1967. In 1979 it was incorporated as an Illinois not-for-profit. In 1985 an Early Childhood Program for 60 children opened to join the Social Services, Education and Employment programs. A dental clinic opened in 1988, followed by a Community Health Project, a health education project that includes street outreach for HIV prevention. By 1995 HACC was offering Case Management to persons with HIV/AIDS. During 1995-96 HACC opened an Alternative High School and a Head Start classroom. In recent years, the Center has launched an Infant/Toddlers program encompassing Early Head Start and a Healthy Families project aimed at young moms and a Teen Reach program for high school students. We opened a childcare center for children ages 6 weeks – 3 years in September 2002. An Employment Resource Center complete with a computer lab opened in October 2002. In January of 2003 the Early Childhood Center moved into a newly rehabbed facility serving 128 children and together with the Infant/Toddler program operates as The Family Center. Our newest facility, a state-of-the-art Computer Clubhouse with start-up funding from the Intel Foundation began offering after-school services to students ages 10-18 in January of 2005

Contact person: Bonnie Wagner, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: 773-262-6645

Address:

7648 North Paulina Street Chicago, IL 60626 (See a map)

Directions:

We are located 2/3 of a block North of the intersection of Howard and Paulina on the West side of the Street.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Red Line Howard Stop,   Walk distance (in minutes): 5   Nearest Bus Stop: #147 Paulina Stop, 5 minute walk