DuPage PADS Welcomes New Board Officers
DuPage PADS, committed to end homelessness in DuPage County by restoring lives, is proud to announce its new board officers.
DuPage PADS, committed to end homelessness in DuPage County by restoring lives, is proud to announce its new board officers.
As part of their 25th anniversary celebration, DuPage PADS is having their 7th Annual Run/Walk on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8 a.m., beginning at 703 W. Liberty in Wheaton. This 5K CARA approved course appeals to serious runners, casual joggers and families alike.
Six-year-old Mariah Mattox lives in a camper and is one of about 1,000 students in Will County who meet the state’s definition of having no permanent address.
Maria Maior’s son is a football-playing, skateboard-riding, Xbox-loving kid whose home reveals all the trappings of domesticity: a cushy sofa, big-screen TV, a framed poster of Brian Urlacher — one of the 12-year-old’s favorite football players. On most evenings, two big dogs curl up on the carpeting.
With the economy pushing more households into financial uncertainty, people who help the homeless are starting to see a rising trend among their clients: two parent families.
It was job loss that triggered Donna’s downhill spiral. Laid off at the end of April after many years in the Naperville business community, she was evicted from her apartment a month later.
Dressed in his full gear, Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mikel bent down to touch his toes a few times so he could stretch before the sprint he was about to take.
Yes, PADS, or Public Action to Deliver Shelter, is the group that coordinates the overnight housing for homeless people that rotates among 31 churches in DuPage County.
A little more than 20 years ago, there were no overnight homeless facilities in DuPage County. Now, as executive director of DuPage Public Action to Deliver Shelter, Simler is leading the Wheaton-based nonprofit’s effort to provide shelter and support to help homeless people find permanent solutions.
Before heading off to Mass Sept. 9 at St. Petronille Parish in Glen Ellyn, three members of the Repking family took a 5 kilometer run and helped the homeless in DuPage County. Standing alongside her 6-year-old and 9-year-old sons, Liz Repking said, “It’s all about the family.”
Most people think of bicycles as toys or exercise tools, but Glenbard West High School senior James Volin sees them as a means of opportunity and hope for those in need.
On benches within the wide expanse of community parks, under bridges, in forest preserves, desolate back alleys or abandoned vehicles, the homeless seek an isolated spot where they can close their eyes and dream of a life that refuses to define every moment as a crisis or each meal as a victory over starvation.