Volunteer Spotlight: Jenn
What do you do when you see a person you think might homeless? Many people don’t know what to do, so they walk on by. This observation spurred Jenn to want to do more.
“One summer, when I was in California at my church denomination council meeting, I noticed many homeless people around. Often they were ignored and it troubled me,” Jenn recalls.
Inspired by her desire to learn more about homelessness, she remembered hearing about DuPagePads while she attended Wheaton College.
“I knew I probably had some misconceptions about those who are homeless, so I went to the DuPagePads website. I watched a couple of videos and signed up to be a volunteer. It was time well spent,” Jen says.
Since 2015, Jenn has been consistently volunteering for DuPagePads, often for the challenging to fill overnight shifts.
“It has been rewarding for me to meet the people and families that come into the overnight housing sites.
Now I intentionally share with others how important DuPagePads is, how it changed the way I see homelessness and how people in the community can be involved in ending it,” Jenn shares.
Still wondering what to do if you see a homeless person who may be in the community?
Contact our Street Outreach program’s toll free line 866-682-3846, ext.2275.
This program engages unsheltered families and individuals throughout the country by providing supplies, referrals to community resources, case management services and much more.
Last year, this program served 66 individuals with 35% exiting to emergency or stable housing.