HISTORY

Youth Crossroads began as the Youth in Crisis Project 1971 to provide crisis intervention for homeless youth, drug abuse counseling and support services for underserved teens in the western suburbs. The project proved successful enough that in 1974, organizers incorporated as an independent non-profit known as West Suburban Youth Outreach, Inc, which was later changed to Youth In Crisis. In 1978, the agency moved into its own facility and continued to evolve and expand services over the next three decades.

In 2007, the agency changed its name to Youth Crossroads, Inc. to better reflect the evolution of services towards prevention of problems rather than only reacting to problems that had reached crisis stage. The Youth Leadership Program was started in 2008, and the Community School Initiative and After-School Programs for middle school students was launched in 2009.  In 2019, Youth Crossroads moved into their new headquarters at 6501 Stanley Avenue in Berwyn. In 2022, the Workforce Development Program was started and an office in Cicero was opened at 5522 W. 25^th Street. In 2023, Violence Prevention and Community Counseling programs were re-started. Since its creation, Youth Crossroads has served tens of thousands of youth and their families from Berwyn, Cicero, Stickney, and neighboring towns. We’ve partnered with more than 100 community organizations to create a network of referral sources to address the complex issues confronting youth and families. Today Youth Crossroads offers a continuum of services to help local youth heal, grow, lead, and thrive. Youth Crossroads also serves as the fiscal agent for the Cicero Community Collaborative and All Our Kids Network (Cicero).

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