For Immediate Release – March 16, 2016

NORTH SHORE SENIOR CENTER SOUTHERN “HUB” MOVES TO NILES

NILES -- After nearly 20 years in Evanston, North Shore Senior Center’s Senior & Family Services is moving east to 7900A Milwaukee Avenue., Suite 2-20B in Niles, Illinois.

Since 1996, staff located at the Center’s south Evanston office provided a multitude of services to older adults and the challenges they faced. Though most of the services offered through the site in Evanston are community-based (provided in clients homes), the office soon ran out of physical space. Anticipating a continuing need for increased space to effectively serve clients, Center leadership went through a nearly two-year process to acquire new office space.

The [Niles] location is geographically more central for the southern sector of our service area,” said Jordan Luhr, executive director. “And the intersection of Milwaukee and Oakton is a major stop for public transportation.”

Maintaining a physical space in Evanston was also crucial, and the Center has acquired office space in the Lorraine Morton Civic Center (2100 Ridge Avenue) and other Evanston-based programs that meet elsewhere will remain at their current sites. For example, support groups – Low Vision, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and Family Caregiver – that the Center offers and facilitates at the Levy Center will remain there.

The new office in Niles is in a small, indoor, L-shaped mall (Oak Mill Plaza) with retail on the first floor and health-related offices on the second floor. The mall is well maintained, fully accessible, and has ample parking. Places to eat and shop, groupings of comfortable furniture for conversation, and lots of daylight in the mall common areas create a pleasant environment for staff and clients alike. Their new facility will provide more space, privacy, and comfort to clients, along with as the integration of an array of services.

Director of Senior & Family Services-Niles, Liz Gordon, expects to be able to assist more seniors in Niles and other villages in the Center’s southern service sector as staff learn more about the communities. “The growth will be a deliberate and collaborative process with other nonprofits and governmental agencies,” she noted, “in order to fill gaps and enhance services that best meet community needs.”

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