Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment and OWI Services
Within our substance abuse department, we house our OWI School weekend diversion classes.
We offer classes statewide in seven locations: Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Charles City, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, and Sioux City.
We help over 1,750 individuals with chemical dependency related issues, between our outpatient treatment & evaluation services in our office, Des Moines Public Schools, and our OWI weekend classes.
To schedule a 12-hour or 48-hour OWI Jail Diversion Weekend, please call Rae, Rachel, Seth at 515-249-8596, email rae.luna@urbandreams.org, or visit us at owischool.com.
Workforce Development
Urban Dreams – Iowa offers Workforce Development programs in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines that include the employment programs with Broadlawns Medical Center and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. We are working on expanding workforce development services to other businesses and industries.
Community Connectivity
This bucket of work includes all of our monthly community engagement events, community-police relations initiatives, and public safety work.
These events are free or very low cost and focus on positive out-of-car experiences for law enforcement, meeting neighbors, and engaging business and community leaders.
These events bring together over 15,000 families and community members annually and create increased awareness of services for over 100,000 individuals. For these events to work, we heavily rely on our generous sponsors and amazing volunteers.
To help with volunteering or sponsoring our events, please call Rachel Manna at 515-288-4742 or click here to volunteer.
Mental Health Treatment and Services
Urban Dreams partners with Broadlawns Medical Center to provide mental health treatment services at our 601 Forest Ave. location.
To schedule an appointment, please contact Rochean Cofield at 515-288-4742.
Information and Referral
Since 1985, Urban Dreams has formed an extensive network of collaborators and partners within the community which includes services that provide assistance for people in need.
Urban Dreams also invites anyone to make free local phone calls, use the internet, or just get out of the weather and watch TV.
For information or a referral, please call 515-288-4742 or visit 211iowa.org
Social Mediation and Consultation
Urban Dreams provides consultation and assistance with issues involving race, education, community conflict, and social/civil concerns with multiple agencies, including (but not limited to):
- Broadlawns Medical Center
- City of Des Moines
- Des Moines Area Community College
- Des Moines Police Department
- Des Moines Public Schools
- The Greater Des Moines Partnership
- Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Voter Education
A non-partisan effort to increase civic engagement in areas with historically low voter turnout, within the scope of which is –
A non-partisan forum that has focused attention on issues of particular concern to minorities in presidential, gubernatorial, and other elections since 1984
IOWA BROWN & BLACK FORUM
The Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum is an element of Urban Dreams’ non-partisan Project V.O.T.E. (Voting Opportunities Through Education). It is the nation’s only presidential forum in which all candidates have the opportunity to answer essential concerns of African-Americans and Latinos. The non-partisan event began in 1984 and has figured prominently in the Iowa caucuses. It is recognized as the oldest continuous minority forum for presidential candidates in America and one of the longest-running presidential forums in the nation.
For more information on the Iowa Brown & Black Forum, please visit us at brownandblackforum.org.
Other Activities
- Staff serves on multiple boards and commissions
- Staff is available for cultural competency training, panels, and workshops