In the Field

On Friday, May 1st, we will be holding an open house at our offices in Maywood to give everyone an update on the programs and services that comprise our solution to homelessness, a tour of our expanded office space, and to unveil our new name and logo.

Tom Holmes, a longtime volunteer, shares an article that reminds him why he became motivated to begin volunteering in an emergency shelter in 1983.

This month, we relaunched our partnership with the West Cook YMCA by resuming the Interim Housing program, which provides PADS' clients who are homeless with a private, supported and stable living environment while they work toward self-sufficiency goals.

Girl Scout Troop 40934 visited our Emergency Shelter and set up a "street store," for clients to pick out clothing the troop collected.

Jeff became homeless after a re-occurrence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which developed in Vietnam. After engaging with PADS & Hines VA, Jeff is now stable.

James, a legally blind Vietnam veteran, recently flew to New Jersey to meet his guide dog, Mack, and train with him for two weeks before bringing him home.

Since moving into a new apartment and cooking his own healthy meals, Thomas has lost 11 lbs. and been able to cut down on medication he needed to control his blood pressure when he was homeless.

Two orientation sessions have been scheduled for new volunteers in the Emergency Shelter.

Meet Brandon. He was homeless for 12 years, bouncing from shelter to shelter, couch to couch. Brandon struggles with a myriad of health issues, and he is legally blind, which makes it very hard to get — and keep — a job. You may have seen him around town washing windows when the weather allows. Our Outreach & Engagement team met him living on the streets.