Our Story:
A History of Impact
1970s: Recognizing A Need
In 1978, a group of women were plagued by increasing violent stories shared within their community and recognized one vital thing: a lack of access to services for women and children experiencing domestic violence. The discussion motivated this dedicated group of women to form Life Span- what began as a 24-hour crisis hotline.
The crisis hotline, entirely led by volunteers, was a first step in a decades-long history of recognizing community needs and rising to those gaps. Since the very start, Life Span has been dedicated to serving those suffering the effects of domestic violence, and to reducing community acceptance and tolerance of domestic violence by providing community education and technical assistance to professionals supporting survivors of domestic violence.
1980s: Structured Support
What began as a crisis line swiftly grew to multiple support groups and led to the hiring of paid staff. Staff supported survivors through individual counseling as well as counseling child witnesses to abuse. With a quickly-growing staff and robust volunteers, Life Span was able to focus on advocacy work, including pressuring state government to pass the Illinois Domestic Violence Act in 1982, which focused Life Span’s efforts to develop a program which would help survivors use the court system to gain safety for themselves and their children. Life Span staff and volunteers began accompanying survivors to court and assisting them in overcoming the phenomenal resistance to the new law and its principal remedy: the Order of Protection.
Advocating for Increased Access
Throughout the 1980s, Life Span sets its sights on increasing access to legal services for survivors throughout Cook County. Life Span staff were instrumental in:
- The establishment of a special criminal domestic violence court call for Cook County Circuit Court District Two in Skokie
- The establishment of a special criminal domestic violence court call for Cook County Circuit Court District Three in Rolling Meadows
- The creation of the State’s Attorney’s Task Force to deal with systemic issues in the criminal justice system
- A committee which drafted and passed needed amendments to the IDVA in 1986, making that law a stronger tool for domestic violence survivors
1990s: Growth Throughout the Community
Life Span experienced unprecedented growth in services to address the needs of clients throughout the 1990s. Life Span established:
- Life Span’s Center for Legal Services and Advocacy
- Opened the Downtown Office, now located at 70 E. Lake Street, Suite 600, Chicago, IL
- The Police Program, which offers specialized services for survivors whose abusers are police officers as well as training and policy development assistance to area police departments addressing the problem of abusers within their ranks
- the Target Abuser Call (TAC) program, where a Life Span staff attorney and court advocates are available at the 555 West Harrison courthouse to addresses the barriers to successful prosecution of domestic violence crimes, including more extensive evidence collection and trial preparation, enhanced victim support services, and legal representation for the survivor in civil cases which complement the work done in criminal court
- The Immigration Project, which works to protect immigrant survivors, who are often threatened by abusers with deportation, by assisting with legal pathways to escape violence through the Violence Against Women Act, U-Visas, systemic advocacy, and more
- The Children’s Program expanded to provide school-based education and prevention services to in the north and north-western suburbs of Chicago
2000s to Today: Partnering to Increase Impact
Since the 2000s to the present, Life Span has been dedicated to expanding services and partnering with other community organizations to increase our impact in the lives of survivors and improve systemic responses to Domestic Violence. Our established partnerships with The Network, the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Illinois Attorney General, the Cook County State’s Attorney, and more have allowed Life Span to provide an invaluable coordinated community response.
Life Span has grown to 48 employees across our Des Plaines and Chicago offices. We are proud to offer services in 7 Languages and multiple modalities. We serve nearly 5,000 individuals annually, of all genders, races, and sexualities. We are proud to stay true to our mission: the eradication of domestic violence in the lives of its individual clients and in society.
