Interim Housing Program Relaunches at the West Cook YMCA

This month, we relaunched our partnership with the West Cook YMCA by resuming the Interim Housing program, which was suspended at the end of 2013 due to federal funding cuts. Supported by an AmeriCorps grant, the partnership provides PADS' clients who are homeless with a private, supported and stable living environment while they work toward self-sufficiency goals. 

The West Cook YMCA, which operates the only resident program in the Chicago metropolitan area outside of the city, will provide 10 Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) rooms in its building at 255 South Marion Street in Oak Park. Each room will be occupied by one resident for up to 90 days based on 30% of the client's income and supplemented by $250 per tenant per month as a temporary housing subsidy. 

All Interim Housing program participants are male clients who have an income or are enrolled in our Employment Readiness program. A full-time AmeriCorps member provides on-site case management services to help transition clients to permanent, independent housing. 

WSPADS Executive Director Lynda Schueler on the reinstituted partnership:

"Our prior experience with Interim Housing at the Y proved that we can make stable housing a reality for more people more quickly by alleviating their need for long-term shelter. Our on-site case manager will work with 35 to 40 clients in the coming year, connecting them with community support services, health resources, employment and public benefits counseling, and housing relocations resources." 

West Cook YMCA President & CEO Phillip Jiménez on the reinstituted partnership: 

"We welcome this expanded relationship with West Suburban PADS for it complements a planned shift of the West Cook YMCA's Resident program from being strictly an SRO setting to offering optional case management services to the occupants of our 127 rooms. Our mutual goal is to help residents transition to employment and self-sufficiency."