Join Us for Hope for Homes Day of Giving

On Thursday, July 17, Housing Forward will participate in Hope for Homes Day, a statewide day of giving led by La Casa Norte and recognized by Governor Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. This fundraising day brings together nonprofits across Illinois to take meaningful action toward ending homelessness and promoting housing justice.

Our goal this year is to raise $30,000 to support the opening of our new Emergency Overnight Shelter, a critical step in expanding our services to meet increasing demand.
With the generous support of the Village of Oak Park and Cook County, Housing Forward will be able to host up to 40 individuals each night in this new space, located at 112 S. Humphrey in Oak Park.  

In the weeks leading up to Hope for Homes Day, we’ll be sharing updates on construction, interviews with our staff, and ways you can get involved, including volunteer opportunities. 

Volunteer Opportunities

We’re excited to share that our new shelter location brings with it even more ways for volunteers to get involved. Just like at our current site, we continue to depend on the incredible generosity of donors and volunteers to provide three meals a day for our shelter guests.

One of the most exciting upgrades at the new location is a fully equipped professional kitchen. This will allow volunteer groups to prep and pack meals right on site. We’ve also added a spacious dining area where guests can gather and share meals in a welcoming, community-focused setting.

In addition to meal prep, we’re looking for dedicated evening and breakfast hosts to help maintain the dining space and support the Housing Forward staff in creating a comfortable experience for our guests.

We’re truly grateful to the many groups who have already reached out about supporting this new chapter. That said, we still have a strong need for meal providers at our 211 and current shelter locations. If you're interested in lending a hand, click here to sign up!

Meeting a Growing Demand

As we shared earlier this year, homelessness is on the rise in Illinois and across the country. One trend we've seen firsthand at Housing Forward is the increasing number of families with children experiencing homelessness, especially at our Emergency Overnight Shelter.

In 2024, we served 173 individuals at the shelter. Many were part of families with minor children or multi-adult households. On 15% of nights, we were at or above our shelter’s maximum capacity of 20 individuals.

While we might have had open beds on some of those nights, our current setup limits who we can accommodate. The space is divided into specific areas: 10 beds for men, 5 for women, and space for two families with minors. This rigid structure often means that although beds are empty, they aren’t usable by the households on our waitlist, especially families or multi-adult households.

The need has only intensified in 2025. In the first six months of this year, we've been at or over capacity for 55% of nights. Quite simply, we’ve outgrown our current space.

That's why our new shelter location is so critical. It offers not just more room, but greater flexibility. Rather than fixed bed counts for men, women, and families, the new space will allow us to adapt our layout nightly, based on the needs of the guests we serve. This means we can shelter people faster, reduce time spent on the waitlist, and better support families in crisis.

Honoring a Legacy of Advocacy

Emergency overnight shelter has always been at the heart of our mission. In fact, it was the very first service we offered.

In the early 90s, a chance encounter inspired a lifelong commitment to service and advocacy. While walking in Forest Park, Pat Anderson came across a gentleman who had a simple request. Pat remembers he didn’t ask for much, just a sandwich. Even though the encounter was short it stuck with her and motivated her to talk with her pastor about what they could do to help people experiencing homelessness. Over the next year, Pat and other community members would go on to create an agency dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness. From that effort, Tri-Village P.A.D.S. was born.

Those familiar with our history know that Tri-Village P.A.D.S. later became West Suburban P.A.D.S, and eventually, Housing Forward.

In recognition of her unwavering advocacy and leadership, we are proud to name our new fixed-site emergency overnight shelter at 112 S. Humphrey The Anderson Emergency Shelter.

We are deeply grateful to Pat Anderson for being both an ambassador and a shining example of how communities should respond to neighbors in need.

Learn more about the Anderson Emergency Shelter

Give to Housing Forward on Hope for Homes Day