By Tom Siebert
Assistant Director for Community Relations
Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) of Kendall County
It literally takes a village to turn churches into temporary homeless shelters.
But that’s what Kendall County PADS has been doing for the past nine
years. The last two years have also entailed transforming a secondary
school into one of its seven shelter sites, which are open every night
during the colder six months of the calendar.
And the homeless support group receives a whole lot of help from
donors, volunteers, public agencies, and charitable organizations,
according to Anne Engelhardt, executive director of Kendall County PADS.
“I have the unique privilege of meeting the homeless guests who come
to our shelters, serving side by side with our volunteers, and working
with our site coordinators, who provide excellent leadership at the
seven sites,” Ms. Engelhardt said. “In addition, I am fortunate to be in
the position to accept for PADS many kinds of assistance from local
service agencies which support the mission of providing for the
homeless.”
One of those public charities is the Community Foundation of the Fox
River Valley, which recently granted $7,778.51 to Kendall County PADS.
The funds were allocated for:
• tables at Parkview Academy that are used by PADS guests and shared by students at the Yorkville school
• fourteen cots that have been equally distributed at the seven shelter
sites and used to accommodate guests who are infirm, elderly, disabled,
or otherwise physically challenged, and
• replacement of about one-third of PADS’ oldest basic supplies such as
towels, washcloths, blankets, pillowcases, mattresses, and mattress
covers.
“We strive to sustain a healthy and comfortable environment,” Ms.
Engelhardt explained. “We want to treat our guests in ways we would care
for guests in our own homes, keeping in mind their needs.”
The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is a nonprofit,
tax-exempt, philanthropic organization that administers individual
charitable funds from which grants and scholarships are distributed to
benefit the citizens of the Greater Aurora Area, the TriCities and
Kendall County, Illinois.
Founded in 1948, the Foundation provides a simple and powerful
approach to charitable giving. Individuals, families, businesses, and
organizations have the opportunity to custom design their own named
funds that reflect their charitable goals and interests. Since its
inception, the Community
Foundation has grown to more than $89 million
in assets and has awarded more than $70.5 million in grants and
scholarships.
For more information on the Foundation, visit www.cffrv.org.
The Foundation helped launch the shelter program in 2010 with a
$6,519 grant to cover capital costs.
Since then Kendall County PADS has
served a total of 428 homeless guests, provided 9,725 overnight stays,
and served 29,209 meals including breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The
totals do not include figures from the current shelter season, which
began last October 19.
The “village people” who put together PADS include 600 unpaid
volunteers. Most volunteers serve one or two times each month for four
and a half hours. Some of the site coordinators serve every week.
PADS also partners with the Kendall County sheriff’s office, food
pantry, and health department as well as Aurora University, whose social
work interns assist guests with employment, personal issues, and
permanent housing.
The shelters are open from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. through April 20 on:
• Sundays at Cross Lutheran Church, 8609 Route 47, Yorkville
• Mondays, Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ, 409 Center Parkway, Yorkville
• Tuesdays, Harvest New Beginnings church, 5315 Douglas Road, Oswego
• Wednesdays, Parkview Christian Academy, upper campus, 202 East Countryside Parkway, Yorkville
• Thursdays, Trinity United Methodist Church, 2505 Boomer Lane, Yorkville
• Fridays, Church of the Good Shepherd, 5 West Washington Street, Oswego
• Saturdays, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 53 Fernwood Road, Boulder Hill
PADS of Kendall County is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) group funded by
donations received from grants, gifts, individuals, organizations, and
businesses. Those who wish to donate or volunteer may call (630)
553-5073 or visit the website at http://www.kendallcountypads.org.
Ms. Engelhardt concluded: “PADS knows that shelter and nourishing
foods are a foundation for the homeless. When they are consistently
safe, nourished, and rested, homeless people can begin to work through
stages of change.”
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