The Community Service Council (CSC) of Northern Will County is helping a record number of area residents receive the counseling they need in areas ranging from drug and alcohol use to anger management and housing finances.

The CSC offers clinical counseling, housing and financial counseling and is beginning to offer seminars and classes on a variety of topics affecting students in grades K-12, including bullying.

The agency was formed in 1978 through the merging of two agencies offering similar services in both Bolingbrook and Romeoville. For the past 20 years, the CSC's headquarters has been on Parkwood Avenue in Romeoville. It also has housing counseling facilities at two satellite locations at the Spartan Square mall in Romeoville and New Song Church in Bolingbrook.

The CSC offers clinical counseling for individuals with a full range of personal problems including marriage, divorce, or depression. Through its partnership with the Will County courts, the CSC evaluates DUI and domestic violence offenders.

"We deal with both the victims and the offenders of domestic violence situations," CSC Executive Director Robert Kalnicky said. "We are a referral source for victims."

Clinical counseling services are court ordered, meaning a person cannot just walk into the CSC facility and sign in to see a counselor. All counselors are professionally licensed in their field of expertise.

"Our specialty is rehabilitating the offenders of domestic violence," Kalnicky said.

The CSC offers a 28-week class for domestic violence offenders. The classes are currently offered twice a week, and enrollment is at capacity, he said.

"We have seen a phenomenal increase in these services, and we are trying to keep up as best we can," Kalnicky said. "We may have to open another class, and that has not happened in the two years I have been here."

The CSC also offers housing and financial counseling as a resource to prevent foreclosure.  The CSC used to employ one full-time housing counselor, who helped about five clients a month.

The CSC now employs two full-time and one part-time housing counselor as well as an intern to see about 100 clients a month. Since the CSC is HUD (Housing and Urban Development) certified, housing counselors offer their services at no charge to clients.

The CSC has also partnered with the Will County Land Use Department to handle the administrative piece of its Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The program helps people purchase foreclosed properties.

Last year, the CSC offered educational services to Kelvin Grove Middle School in Lockport to fulfill a grant program. Since the services were well received, the CSC has begun offering seminars and classes for parents or school staff members on a series of school-related topics, including maintaining healthy and functional friendships and the prevention of depression in children.

"Our most popular programs are on bullying and cyber bullying," Kalnicky said.

Schools or parent groups interested in having CSC counselors speak with their groups can call the CSC directly at 815-886-5000.

The CSC is a United Way partner agency and receives a majority of its funds from United Way, the villages of Romeoville and Bolingbrook, DuPage Township and the Will County Community Development Block Grant funds.

The agency's major fundraiser of the year will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, at the Sarah and Joseph Levy Center in Bolingbrook. Tickets are $25 for adults and $12 for children and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance through the CSC's website. The ticket price includes food as well as a guest speaker who will touch on a topic relevant to one of the areas covered by the agency.

A Year of Challenges

For the CSC, this year brought a record-high caseload, as well as challenges the staff could not have anticipated. The biggest shock came on Thursday, Sept. 9, when Kalnicky ran out to pick up a sandwich for lunch.

When he returned, he discovered the aftermath of the Enbridge oil spill.

"When I got back, there was oil bubbling up and this awful smell," Kalnicky said.

The oil spill displaced the agency to the new Romeoville Village Hall for two months until everything was cleaned up and safe to return.

"Mayor Noak, the Village of Romeoville and our partnership with DuPage Township were huge in helping us to get through this difficult time," Kalnicky said. "But we are happy to be home."