Jillian
Liff served as Kendall County PADS volunteer this past shelter
season at St. Luke’s
Lutheran Church in Boulder Hill. (Photo by Dale Liff)
By Tom Siebert
Assistant Director for Community Relations
Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) of Kendall County, IL
The rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic forced Kendall County PADS to
abruptly cut short its tenth shelter season by about one month, but not until
volunteers sought help for their homeless guests in securing alternative temporary
housing.
Earlier this month, the PADS board of directors decided to defer to
school closings and local health officials before deciding whether to close its
seven shelters, located at six area churches and a Christian academy. The sites
had been scheduled to remain operating until April 18.
“Although the board agreed to
the guidelines for closing, we were able to stay open for three more nights so
we would have a couple of days to make some quick decisions for some quick
solutions,” said Anne Engelhardt, executive director of the homeless support
group.
Three social work interns
from Aurora University, which partners with PADS, visited the shelter sites on
the last three overnights they were open, meeting with their homeless clients
and committing to stay connected with them via phone calls and texts.
“They will continue this
support for four more weeks,” said Ms. Engelhardt. “Most of our guests were
able to find a place for shelter immediately or in the near future.”
PADS provided
transportation to four of those guests who were placed at the Daybreak Center
in Joliet, which offers emergency housing and supportive services to
individuals and families in crisis.
Volunteers responded to the
shutdown with a mix of emotions ranging from disappointment, to gratitude for
the service opportunity, to concern for the homeless, coupled with a commitment
to help out during the next shelter season, which runs from Oct. 18 through
April 17, 2021.
"I
am so sorry to hear about PADS closing even though I understand the rationale,”
said Cathe Gusler, who served at the Parkview Christian Academy shelter on
Wednesday evenings. “Thank you for giving me the honor to assist this program.
Please keep me in mind for next year and let me know if there is anything
I can do to help during the off season."
Another
volunteer, Jillian Liff, was both grateful and gratified after her first season
of serving on Saturday nights at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Boulder Hill,
unincorporated Kendall County near Montgomery.
“PADS brought me together with people from the
community once a month to offer what we could––in my case a hot meal to people
who are struggling,” Ms. Liff stated. “Because
each of us on the cooking team took one or two elements of the meal, we were
able to provide some pretty tasty and nutritious home-cooked dinners. It felt
good to be a part of PADS this season.”
Kendall County
PADS has been providing nutritious meals, temporary housing, and compassionate
care to the area’s homeless during the colder months of the calendar since
2010.
During this
past shelter season, the support group hosted more than 50 guests, which translated into more than 1,300
overnight stays during 21 weeks.
In addition to Parkview and St.
Luke’s, the makeshift shelters were at Yorkville Congregational United Church
of Christ, Cross
Lutheran Church in Yorkville, Harvest New Beginnings church in Oswego, Trinity
United Methodist Church in Yorkville, and Church of the Good Shepherd in
Oswego.
Kendall
County PADS 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, volunteer, or learn
more about helping the local homeless community may call (630) 334-8180 or
visit kendallcountypads.org.
The potentially deadly coronavirus,
designated as COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), spreads
primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze. It
is also transmitted when a person touches a surface or object that has the
virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.
As of 7 a.m. on March 23,
there were 358,082 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide with 15,433
resulting in death; 39,371 cases and 467 deaths in the United States; 1,049
cases and 9 deaths in Illinois; and four cases and no deaths in Kendall County.
Those recorded numbers of COVID-19
cases and deaths, which are expected to rise drastically, were obtained from
the WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois Dept. of
Public Health, and Kendall County Health Dept., respectively.
Following the closing of
the temporary shelters, Ms. Engelhardt sent a letter of appreciation to all
PADS volunteers, which read in part:
“You
have demonstrated over and over your dedication to helping the people who live
in homelessness. You faithfully pass on
kindness through your warm hospitality. Thank you for your selfless gift to
others in need these past five months.”
