Link Crisis Intervention Center

The identity crisis ... occurs in that period of the life cycle when each youth must forge for himself some central perspective and direction, some working unity, out of the effective remnants of his childhood and the hopes of his anticipated adulthood. (Young Man Luther, ch. 1)

The Link Crisis Intervention Center is a program of Child & Family Services of Southwestern Michigan, Inc. The Link provides access to shelter through a community partnership with the Ark in Kalamazoo. We also provide counseling, aftercare, outreach and community education services to runaway, homeless and at-risk youth and their families in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties. This is the only program in the tri-county area solely devoted to serving youth in crisis.

When the youth returns home, we provide a six-month aftercare program which is offered to all youth and/or their families who have participated in the Ark shelter program in Kalamazoo.

The Link Crisis Intervention Center also provides on-site and home-based counseling to groups, individuals and families. We are prepared to provide community outreach and aftercare services for more than 1500+ youth and their families.

The Link continues to develop collaborative programs within our community. We currently have an agreement with the Benton Harbor Boys and Girls Club allowing youth who participate in Link services to participate in their programs, including dinner. The Link provides counseling and referrals to community resources to any youth participatin at the Boys and Girls Club. A Link counselor is at each of their locations once a week. This collaboration is also an opportunity to identify at-risk youth and intervene in time to prevent youth from becoming homeless or running away.

The goal of the Link is to assist youth in developing skills that will prevent them from becoming homeless or running away and to facilitate reunifying youth in the shelter with their family or to another suitable environment. We are accomplishing our goals by providing access to shelter, case management, counseling and outreach to youth (ages 9 to 17) and their families. All services provided by the Link are voluntary and free. We continue to work with local communities to identify and implement effective mutually beneficial collaborations to assist in responsible stewardship of available resources.