Free store for kids in crisis and transition in McHenry County opens in Crystal Lake

The nonprofit Kids in Need of McHenry County wants to meet people where they’re at.

Where they’re at is often in need of clothing – shirts, pants, socks, underwear and more – for children in crisis. Those needs may also include baby diapers, personal hygiene products, menstrual products, school supplies and birthday presents.

To help address those needs, The Bridge store, which opened March 1, allows caregivers to shop in a real store setting for supplies. “Something has disrupted their normalcy,” KIN executive director Michelle Prickett said, adding that much of the organization’s client base are foster families and others who work directly with those children.

“If they come in without a referral, we will reach out on their behalf.”

—  Alicia Wehby, Second Bridge program director

Clients could include a child whose parents are divorcing and the custodial parent is now homeless, or a child who has moved to a grandparent’s home because the parent is hospitalized, or a child who has entered the Department of Children and Family Services’ care.

Both Prickett and Second Bridge program director Alicia Wehby are longtime foster parents. “We have experienced what people are telling us they need,” Wehby said.

The two women separately began nonprofit programs aimed at helping foster parents and foster children. Wehby began Second Bridge shortly after A.J. Freund’s death, inviting residents to “Stuff the Duffel” for foster kids. That volunteer-led event packed 4,000 bags for children in need and inspired Wehby to found Second Bridge to continue that support, she said.

Kids in Need, founded by Prickett, was a smaller program that served foster families only. “If we were going to keep our promises, we decided to merge and expand services to all child-serving agencies, schools and families in need,” Prickett said.

The combined organization had a clothing donation and distribution center at their warehouse along at 89½ Grant St. in Crystal Lake. “It was a makeshift store. It was hard to find us and the parking was not great,” Wehby said.

“It was affordable on a not-for-profit budget,” Prickett added. But their board president, Dawn Bremer of The Bremer Team-Keller Williams Success Realty in McHenry, found them a location for The Bridge store off Route 176 in Crystal Lake.

“That woman is relentless,” Prickett said of Bremer. Bremer is as laudatory of Prickett and Wehby. “I’m super proud to be board president with women like that. Their unwavering dedication and compassion have transformed dreams into reality, providing a beacon of hope for those in need,” Bremer said.

After finding a location, a McHenry business donated wood for shelving. A volunteer took that wood and built the shelves and racks to hang clothing and stack the other essentials. The Bridge, Wehby said, gives clients “that last bit of dignity to shop in a real store.” Clothing is available for all children, from infants to 18-year-olds.

The clothing is new or gently used. “We have a lot of volunteers who shop clearance racks and who will buy new clothes” for the program, Wehby said. Right now, spring and summer clothing are shelved, with winter and fall clothing packed away at the Crystal Lake warehouse.

They do not get federal funding, but do get occasional grants from McHenry County. Most of their funding comes from individual donors.

To access The Bridge, operators do request a referral from social service programs, including Head Start, Options & Advocacy for McHenry County, The Pioneer Center and school social workers. Shopping is by appointment only. “If they come in without a referral, we will reach out on their behalf” to find an agency to aid the family, Wehby said, adding that just because a family is “intact” does not mean they are not in crisis.

By providing needed supplies, Prickett said, The Bridge can help ensure children don’t end up having to go into the foster care system. “The goal is preventing them from going into foster care.”

For more information or to donate, go to kinmc.org.