This directory has been compiled for your use by the DeKalb County Community Action Program that is funded by a Community Services Block Grant through the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
The Program also maintains an informational and referral service with additional available service providers. If you do not find a resource in this directory to meet your needs or require additional information, we encourage you to call us at the phone number listed below. We will make every effort to locate the nearest service available.
Due to ever changing service availability this directory may not have all current assistance information. We welcome any additions, corrections, and suggestions to be sent to us by using our website contact message, phone call, or email to info@fsadekalbcouty.org.
Community Action Program
Family Service Agency of DeKalb County
1325 Sycamore Rd
Dekalb, Illinois 60115
(815) 758-8616
Whether you’re a life-long resident of DeKalb or new to the area, the Transit Resource Guide can help you locate and find transportation to medical facilities, grocery stores, government agencies, child care facilities, schools, and even areas of employment, all in one centralized location. With over 50 different business and organization locations and information available, the Transit Resource Guide is the perfect document to make your trip easier and quicker.
2-1-1 is a national dialing code for health and human service information and referral. 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember number that helps connect individuals and families to community-based organizations. Housing • Shelter • Food • Legal Aid • Clothing • Education • Counseling • Utility Assistance • Health Care • Transportation • Volunteer Opportunities • Employment Programs • Disaster Response
Information on food pantries available across DeKalb County.
In August and September of 2022 Opportunity DeKalb hosted community conversations at four locations in the Annie Glidden North neighborhood. The conversations were open to residents of AGN to gather additional resident input to inform ongoing revitalization efforts. The conversations were facilitated by Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies. A report is available from the sessions as a resource to all who are interested.
We partnered with a Department of Sociology graduate course at NIU, who conducted
qualitative research to gather further information from residents about the neighborhood.
We partnered with the NIU STEAM program as the university pursued a grant for an afterschool
program for DeKalb middle school students. The capstone community improvement project was for those middle school students to imagine that a property had been acquired by the city and was set for redevelopment. The middle school students conducted their own version of a needs analysis and focus groups with their parents, culminating in a pitch night where they displayed their ideas at a public event. The link above is to a document that includes a page with post-it notes of the ideas the students came up with.
Student Surveys
We partnered with an undergraduate course at NIU where students surveyed NIU students about perceptions of DeKalb and the AGN neighborhood.
Stakeholder Perceptions of Change
We partnered with an undergraduate course at NIU where students applied principles of change management to interview various stakeholder groups in DeKalb about changing perceptions of DeKalb and the AGN neighborhood. Those stakeholder groups included local government, nonprofit organizations, local retail businesses, local restaurants, as well as residential and commercial property owners and agents. Final oral presentations and findings were delivered at the end of the semester with both the DeKalb city manager and mayor in attendance along with the Opportunity DeKalb Board of Directors. Out of this project, we are currently working with a NIU faculty members and group of honors students on the first phase of a feasibility analysis for a community-supported apparel shop.
Download a copy of the one-page overview of Opportunity DeKalb's focus areas.