Programs/Services

Alternatives provides essential programs and services for young people and their families on the north side of Chicago and beyond. Programs include counseling, after-school and summertime activities, career and employment services, cultural and arts activities, and more.

Our range of programs and services are designed to meet the dynamic and ever-changing needs and interests of the youth we serve. Through Alternatives, young people develop in three key areas: connection, confidence, and knowledge. Programs are youth-led, youth-focused, and constantly evolving along with the youth who inform and participate in them.

Connect Force enables participants to build positive community while discovering and developing their talents through the hip-hop arts, including breakdancing, visual arts, deejaying, emceeing, and more.

Career and Employment Services prepares youth for their futures through pre-employment and career planning by providing individual coaching, workshops, skills training, and apprenticeship opportunities.

Girl World gives girls between the ages of 10 and 18 a safe space in which to focus on increasing self-esteem and self-expression, building skills and developing leadership abilities.

Restorative Justice builds competency and accountability among young people while increasing school and community safety by offering alternatives to traditional punitive disciplinary approaches.

Keepin' it REAL helps high school students build the life skills they need to make safe and productive choices about avoiding high-risk behaviors.

Clinical Services pairs licensed professionals with young people and their families to develop new skills and address conflict, peer relationships, depression, substance abuse, violence, and grief/loss through individual, group, and family therapy, 24-hour crisis intervention, and outpatient substance abuse treatment.