At Little City, we provide a wide range of meaningful, convenient support to communities with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities.
We were intentional in naming our organization “Little City” because that’s exactly what we are. This means a lot of things, but it mostly means we offer comprehensive services while cultivating a community within a contained space where people with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities have access to the care they need. Learn more about who we are and how our little city operates.
What is a “Little City”?
To us, being a Little City has meaning both in terms of what we offer and the community we cultivate. We offer numerous services, and offering comprehensive support for our community reflects a city structure because, like a city, most everything people with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities need is readily available and convenient for them.
This includes health and wellness services such as primary medical and oral health care, behavioral health services and dietary services. This also includes fitness and recreation opportunities, classes and programming; home-based support; and other adult and child-specific services we will outline in the next section.
Our community is like no other; we facilitate an organizational culture of care, support and togetherness. This is both for the people we serve and the people we work with because when everyone’s having fun and working toward the same goal, everyone wins. Like a city, we instill pride in our team and clients for where they work or live and cultivate a community rooted in our mission.
What does our Little City look like?
We have a large, well-kept campus located in Palatine, IL where youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities live along with our corporate office. Much of what these young people need is accounted for so they have convenient access to services and amenities.
The back of our property is where one can find our residential homes, each of which houses 8 to 10 youth with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities and the appropriate degree of support. These homes sit in a beautiful, open space with trees and a biking path that connects the homes. In each home, residents have their own room, which we work with their parents or guardians to furnish with their interests.
As one walks toward the front of our community, there is a school within walking distance of the homes where residents take classes and learn life skills. It is a traditional school that has classrooms, a small gym and even an outdoor play space. Across from the school is an all-purpose activities space that contains a large room for communal and staff activities, along with a kitchen where meals are prepared and then delivered to residents’ homes.
There are also personnel buildings for our staff to carry out their responsibilities in close proximity to the residents. We wanted to build a space that is foundationally secure and where everyone can focus on growth, both personal and professional. Like a city, everything needed for that growth is accessible and readily available.
What does Little City offer?
Little City offers a full range of services for adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Our services for adults (aged 22 and older) include:
- Employment Services: provides job coaching, skill building, job readiness, career exploration and industry-specific training to empower.
- Community Day Services: provides activities enabling adults to become more independent, productive and integrated into the community.
- Center for the Arts: provides new possibilities for adults to use their unique and creative talents for communication and expression.
- Horticulture: provides opportunities for skill development through gardening and landscaping workshops.
Our services for children include:
- Residential Services: provides campus living for over 50 children including recreational, educational and therapeutic opportunities.
- School: provides therapeutic day school committed to building bright futures.
- Foster Care: provides innovative, individualized and community-based treatment to children and their families.
Who is Little City?
We were established by a group of parents who dreamed of a supportive environment for their children with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities. Many experts at the time said these children should be institutionalized, but instead these parents helped lay the foundation for a community of comprehensive services for their kids, inspired by a strong mission and common purpose.
Today, our organization includes a 56-acre campus in Palatine, Illinois where the people we serve can take advantage of housing, programming and educational opportunities, as well as a foster care placement office in Chicago. We have over 400 staff members with a wide range of degrees, backgrounds and passions, and they all contribute to a greater culture of care that informs everything we do to provide meaningful support.
Our little city is a place of care, support and togetherness. These values guide our structure to make sure that clients get the comprehensive care they deserve, teammates get the support they need and everyone feels like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. To learn more about how you can join our little city as a team member, visit https://littlecity.org/careers/
