Taryn Julius, DuPagePads access specialist, and CEO April Redzic, right, pose with winter items for people who will be coming into the additional 70 rooms of shelter that DuPagePads is opening thanks to the DuPage County Board and DuPage Foundation donors.
Courtesy of Sarah Lieb
DuPagePads has a street outreach team to check on people experiencing homelessness and help get them into a safe place to stay.
Usually, there are around 20 to 25 people in that program. But in October, with cold weather approaching, the number “went way up,” reaching 103 at one point, DuPagePads President and CEO April Redzic said.
The nonprofit’s board dedicated $150,000 — tripling the budgeted amount — to provide additional winter emergency shelter for people on a waitlist for rooms at an interim housing center DuPagePads operates in a former Downers Grove hotel.
That still wasn’t going to be enough.
So earlier this week, DuPage County Board members agreed to contribute funds after Redzic highlighted the demand for shelter. Similar trends are being seen across the state, said Redzic, who is part of the Illinois Shelter Alliance.
“We are at four times our regular numbers for winter in terms of those waiting for shelter. Up in Lake County, it’s up to nine times as many,” she said.
The DuPage County Board plans to vote in January on a resolution directing $200,000 from the Affordable Housing Solutions fund toward DuPagePads.
The DuPage Foundation also made a special appeal to its donors, donor-advised fund representatives and members of its DuPage Funders’ Collaborative and quickly secured $190,000 in support within a week’s time.
“We have some of the kindest, most generous donors that are looking to the foundation to let them know about the needs in the community and to know about crisis situations like this,” said Barb Szczepaniak, the foundation’s vice president for programs.
The funding from the county, the foundation and the nonprofit’s own reserves will allow DuPagePads to house 70 people from the waitlist through the winter months.
April Redzic, the president and CEO of DuPagePads, says there’s been a greater need for winter emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
Courtesy of Sarah Lieb
“People were just really incredible in terms of understanding the urgency and the life-threatening nature of what was happening and wanting to help out to save lives here in DuPage County,” Redzic said. “I am blown away with how quickly and how kindly people responded to this need.”
‘Safe and warm’
DuPagePads prioritizes rooms in its interim housing center for parents with children and people fleeing domestic violence.
The pandemic forced DuPagePads and other agencies to close congregate shelters, many of them in churches. Advocates moved homeless people from those satellite sites to empty hotel rooms to protect them from COVID-19.
County board members awarded $5 million to help DuPagePads acquire the hotel property. Of that sum, the county used $2 million in American Rescue Plan money, and $3 million came from the Community Development Block Grant fund, which are federal dollars that pass through the county.
“So by converting to the IHC, not only is it a more stable and dignified environment, it’s 24 hours. It’s not just overnight. It’s doubled, or in some cases, even tripled, the amount of folks that are being sheltered by Pads,” said Mary Keating, the county’s director of community services.
Redzic said this week the center was housing just under 300 people. They have access to an education liaison, someone who can help them find medical services and case management.
“Also just from a safety standpoint, beyond the fact that you are safe and warm, you also have walls and a door around you, which provides such a layer of protection,” Redzic said.
Coming together
County board member Paula Deacon Garcia decided to get the county involved after she became aware of the issue.
“She had a constituent who needed a place to stay, and I let her know that she could reach out,” Redzic said. “But I wanted to make sure she was aware of the fact that we had a lot of people waiting for shelter.”
The county also contacted the DuPage Foundation.
“Donors that have given to us to support this, as well as the county, are all coming together collectively to provide the support, and I think that’s really powerful,” Szczepaniak said.
The county board is set to vote on the resolution on Jan. 14.
“We will begin utilizing the funding that was already approved by our board for December and into January, knowing that there are more resources coming after that point to pay for this effort moving forward,” Redzic said.
What’s behind the increase in need? Redzic pointed to the increased cost of renting an apartment.
“Until there is more affordable housing, we may continue to see high numbers of people who have been evicted because they do not have enough income to meet the rental costs,” she said.
Redzic has advocated for more state funding, specifically for the Emergency and Transitional Housing program.
“The best long-term solution is to get enough housing out there,” Redzic said, “and the best short-term solution is for there to be more ETH funds so that we can help people when they wind up in the situations like we were seeing and are seeing now.”