“DuPagePads Helped Me Through the Fire”
Jessica’s Story
One summer night, Jessica was lucky to be alive. She had just survived a fire that had started in the second story of the low income housing where she currently lived. The fire department determined that the house was unlivable and therefore needed to be torn down.
Alone and frightened, Jessica felt helpless. With Jessica’s physical and mental disabilities and being almost blind in both eyes, finding a new home by herself would be next to impossible.
Thankfully, various community resources housed her temporarily in a local hotel, but this would not be a permanent solution. “What next?” she asked herself.
Still unsure of what her future would bring, she reached out to DuPagePads for help. “I am so glad DuPagePads was there for me. I didn’t know where to turn,” Jessica said. “They saved me.”
DuPagePads collaborated with community resources and through DuPagePads Medical Respite Program (a short-term program providing individuals who are in need of medical care with support services and housing), Jessica remained housed in the hotel until she was able to obtain a new apartment. Eventually, DuPagePads provided Jessica with both her first month prorated rent and also her security deposit through the agency’s Housing NOW Program.
With only $630 in social security income, Jessica faced another uncertainty of how she would afford $880 in moving expenses. DuPagePads assisted her in obtaining needed funds and housing items to create a new home. As a result of DuPagePads programs and services, Jessica was able to return to an apartment just two month after she began working with DuPagePads.
Jessica was both excited and relieved to have a place she would now call home.
“When I was distraught, without a home, and unsure of what to do next, DuPagePads was here for me. DuPagePads helped me feel like I wasn’t alone,” Jessica shares.