Housing Forward’s 8th Annual Trivia Night, Compete to Defeat Homelessness took place on July 12 at Fitzgerald's Nighclub in Berwyn. The impressive first place trophy was awarded to Team Bro Bozos whose members were Pam & Charlie Meyerson, Jane & Josh Ditelberg, Janice Kieckhefer and Jake Skubbish -- but we believe at an event like this, everyone is a winner.
Housing Forward is currently seeking AmeriCorps members.
This past week Housing Forward Executive Director Lynda Schueler and Supportive Housing Director Patricia Stokes attended the Corporation for Supportive Housing’s Annual Summit in Los Angeles, June 5-7.
The CSH Summit brings together national stakeholders in the supportive housing movement and overall housing policy to discuss and begin to solve issues surrounding topics such as developing and managing supportive housing, equity policy, healthcare, system transformation and current innovations in the supportive housing field.
On April 8th we will open a new shelter to increase our PADS efforts. During the last quarter of 2017 and continuing into the new year we saw an increased need for more shelter space in the Oak Park community. We were at capacity and often in the position of turning away individuals and families who were in need of immediate shelter.
St. Christopher’s faith community was able to answer our call and is offering their facility as additional Shelter on Sunday nights.
We are still in need of volunteer teams to make this new PADS shelter a success. Please contact Tonisha Daniel, tdaniel@housingforward.org or 708.338.1724 to help with this effort.
Recently, Housing Forward has experienced an influx of families in our PADS Shelter. We know that being without a permanent house places extreme stress on families. Housing Forward is committed to placing a high priority on children and families in all of our programs. As we work to provide comprehensive support for these families, we are seeking volunteers who can help support the parents with providing books and educational supplies so that they can help their school age children with their homework.
We hope you will consider supporting us on #GivingTuesday, the global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide.
Emergency Shelter Food and Shift Gaps
We are in need of meal volunteers in our PADS Shelter for the following weeks during the month:
Breakfast:
5th Wednesday (monthly when applicable) @ Grace Episcopal Church (60 people)
5th Friday (monthly when applicable) @ St. John Lutheran Church (42 people)
1st Friday (monthly) @ Unity Lutheran Church (18 people)
Lunch:
1st and 2nd Thursdays (monthly) @ First United Methodist (60 people)
Due to our recent fire, we have had to relocate to the building just east of our HQ and Support Center. The Quinn Center, also owned by the archdiocese and part of St. Eulalia, will be our new home until the rebuilding is complete. Click below to read our letter of gratitude to Father Mike Adkins and St. Eulalia for their help during this upheaval.
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There are hundreds of people that access Housing Forward’s year-round, five-day-a-week, Support Center to attend to their immediate needs and health issues, access case management and begin to address their long-term needs of housing and sustainable income. Our Support Center is an important initial stop on a client’s journey towards stability.
The Heartland Alliance’s National Initiatives on Poverty & Economic Opportunity has released a new paper about integrating rapid re-housing and employment. Last year, 45 individuals in 27 households were provided with 4,484 nights of housing in Housing Forward’s Rapid Re-Housing program providing access to stable housing and supportive services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness and, at the same time, providing financial assistance and wraparound services that facilitate a transition to long-term stability.
