BELLEVILLE, Illinois – More families in the Metro East area, and Randolph County as well, will be able to receive counseling and services when they lose a family member or close friend since the new Illinois state budget appropriates funding for a new Heartlinks Grief Center location in Belleville.
The fiscal year 2024 budget plan – signed by the Governor on June 7 – includes $2 million for Heartlinks Grief Center to acquire a new building in Belleville and make renovations so that it is handicap-accessible. The new location will be a 9,300-square-foot facility on Belleville’s West End at 4820 West Main Street and is located at a major intersection directly adjacent to two bus routes.
Heartlinks, part of Family Hospice of Belleville, credited the work of Senator Christopher Belt and Representative Jay Hoffman, Assistant House Democratic Leader, for securing the appropriation.
In 1997, Family Hospice of Belleville Area began Heartlinks Grief Center as an outreach program for children who had lost a loved one.
Today, Heartlinks Grief Center operates as the only full-service grief counseling and support program for all ages in Southwestern Illinois. The program that began as single home visits to grieving children has grown to provide grief support mental health services for over 3,300 community members each year in 92 different zip codes – including Randolph County.
“Heartlinks Grief Center has had hundreds of people on the waiting list for grief counseling services over the past year,” said Diana Cuddeback, the Heartlinks Director. “The number of children who will experience the loss of a parent or sibling continues to rise in the State of Illinois. One of 13 children will lose a parent or sibling by the age of 18.”
Cuddeback said in 2022, 22 percent of bereaved children had an opioid-related loss, and 9.8 percent of children lost a parent to suicide.
“Heartlinks thanks Senator Belt and Leader Hoffman for making the appropriation possible and helping to pave the way for the future facility and serving more Metro East residents,” Cuddeback said.
Besides increasing the number of people served, the project is expected to create 25 to 40 union construction jobs, including an estimated 45,000 man-hours.