Riverbend Family Ministries held its grand opening on Friday at their new location at 144 E. Ferguson Ave. in Wood River.

Riverbend Family Ministries Executive Director Tammy Iskarous was beaming on Friday at the grand opening event.

“We are finally in the whole building, and today is a celebration of a bunch of non-profits coming together to do incredible work and be able to move from the 7,000-square-foot building to this one,” Iskarous said. “For 14 years, we helped families in crisis and ran out of room. In 2019, we bought this building – little did we know the world was going to shut down with the COVID-19 Pandemic. Then construction was going to take a little longer and it is now finished.

“It seemed like we would never get this building open and I could not be more proud of this building or more thankful and for all the organizations across the board who do such hard work and work with families in crisis due to violence, addiction, homelessness. It has been this community that has supported this since the beginning of 2007 and to have everybody in the same room is pretty overwhelming.”

For more information on Riverbend Family Ministries, contact (618) 251-9790 or email rfminformation@gmail.com.

Visit their website at riverbendfamilyministries.com.

In 2006 conversation with friends started at a table in our current location that was then TR’s Café. The thought was what if we pulled small nonprofits that were doing great work together under one roof, we could share all the operational cost that most times, prohibits a small nonprofit from growing. In August of 2007 we celebrated the grand opening at 131 E Ferguson Ave, Wood River with 3 small nonprofits. After knocking out as many walls as we could, we still quickly ran out of room. In 2019 we purchased a building (where the conversation first started) with 8 nonprofits and no room to do services. Covid shut down the project for 2 years, however, we are so thankful for the commitment we have seen from area business and trades to complete this large project. In 2021 we moved into the lower level of the new 24,000 sq. ft. building located at 144 E Ferguson Ave. Wood River and continued renovations. “This expansion has been a vision for a long time, and to see it come to fruition is such a blessing”, said Executive Director Tammy Iskarous. “So many trades, volunteers, and community groups have come together to get this expansion completed. I cannot begin to thank them enough”. With the enlarged space we are going to be able to expand current services, add new organizations, conduct county wide trainings, serve more individuals, and families in crisis. RFM now has 10 nonprofits all under one roof that have become family and holistically wrap around our families in crisis due to violence, addiction, homeless and poverty…which is unlike any other organization we know.

Today we are pleased to announce the completion of this project and have planned our grand opening for April 14th 11-1pm with the ribbon cutting at 12. We are so excited to be able to showcase all the various organizations that provide incredible services and pour into our families every day. Tours of the facility will be available before and after the ceremony. A light lunch will be available and RSVPs would be appreciated. Please call 618-251-9790.

Make plans to join us for this year’s RFM Annual Banquet. It’s going to be an exciting time as we join together in person! This year’s event will be held at the beautiful Leclaire Room, 600 Troy Rd., in Edwardsville, featuring dinner catered by Bella Milano! The event is free but you will need to reserve your space.

We are also looking for additional sponsors for the event. Walnut and oak level sponsorships include a VIP table for 8 as well as recognition in various media.

Scan the qr code or follow this link to make your reservation or to become and event sponsor.

2022 RFM Annual Banquet Tickets, Thu, Nov 10, 2022 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite

In 2020 RFM announced the purchase and remodeling of new facilities that would allow us to dig deeper roots in our community and branch out in new areas of outreach, providing more space for current partners as well as opportunity for other NPO’s to join our efforts in providing an expanding variety of resources and support under one roof. We are excited to share more with our community about this ongoing effort and the progress made thus far.

On Thursday, November 4th at 6:00pm we invite you to participate with us in our Annual Banquet as we celebrate the accomplishments of the past and set the pace for our future. Due to the ongoing pandemic and rising numbers across the county, we are opting to conduct this year’s banquet as a hybrid virtual event. A limited number of guests will be joining us in person at Post Commons on Alby and 3rd St. in Alton as well as others joining online as we stream the event via Facebook. We look forward to you joining us for this event!

We invite you to partner with us as we continue this great work. We appreciate your support as together we “Branch Out & Dig Deep” to continue providing hope and healing for individuals and families in Madison County.
Grace & Peace!

Tammy Iskarous
Executive Director

Tammy Iskarous, the Executive Director of RFM is pleased to announce the expansion of the Youth Development Program throughout Madison County. “We have hired a full-time therapist that will work very closely with Madison County Probation, Truancy, Juvenile Justice and School officials in order to give our youth the tools they need to be successful.” “We know that if we can change the trajectory of a young adult’s life, we are changing generations.” S.O.A.R. (Students learning the Ongoing Approach to Resilience) is designed to be a 10-session weekly psychoeducation group. Each session will provide education and activities related to relevant topics and critical to promoting resilient adolescents. Some of these topics include healthy relationships, conflict resolution, impacts of violence, and empathy. As part of the program, adolescents will be required to complete pre and post-test assessments to evaluate level of change. S.O.A.R. also seeks to include parents or guardians in this process through weekly check-ins and at least one parent engagement session. Adolescents will not be able to successfully complete the program without the parent engagement session.

Jenny Langley MA, LPC, has been hired by RFM to be the Director of the (S.O.A.R.) program at Riverbend Family Ministries. Jenny graduated with her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from McKendree University. Since graduating, she has counseled individuals ranging in age from three years old up to college students for a variety of mental health and social emotional issues. She has been a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of Illinois since 2019. She has also completed 40-hour trainings in Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault advocacy during her undergraduate college experience. If interested in joining our growing team and are a SW or LPC please contact our office for more information.