Above / Supportive Housing apartment units “move people from a pad on the floor to a key in the door!”
(Wheaton, IL)— Housing ends homelessness. Recently, DuPagePads received funding for 12 new Supportive Housing apartment units, providing the opportunity to transform the lives of 12 chronically homeless individuals. These apartments not only give people a place to call “home,” but save taxpayer dollars.
DuPagePads is recognized in DuPage County as the largest provider of Supportive Housing, now with 94 apartment units, for families and individuals who have been homeless for a year or longer and have a documented disability such as mental illness, physical disability or substance abuse.
This housing not only provides safety and stability, but tenants also receive ongoing case management which keeps them focused on their life goals, improving their health, obtaining financially security and becoming productive members of their community.
Successful at ending homelessness, 89 percent of Supportive Housing tenants have been in their housing for a year or longer. With clients no longer cycling through emergency rooms, detox centers and prisons, a cost savings to the medical, mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice systems, making communities healthier and safer. Calculations show that last year these units saved taxpayers over $2.5 million alone, all while improving participants’ health.
Thanks for furnishings
To help turn these apartments into homes, service clubs, congregations and local businesses came together to furnish the units.
The Assistance League of Chicagoland West supplied all 12 apartments with kitchen sets which included glassware, pots, pans, cooking utensils, cleaning supplies, a cookbook and small appliances like coffee pots and crockpots, all brand new. BMO Harris Bank donated $2,000 worth of bathroom supplies and accessories for the new apartments and Serta Simmons Bedding in Hoffman Estates donated 12 new mattresses and 7 new box springs, providing a comfortable and relaxing place for clients to sleep.
Congregations donate new & gently-used furniture & household items
- Bethel United Church of Christ in Elmhurst
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Naperville
- Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard
- Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Carol Stream
- First Congregational United Church of Christ in Downers Grove
- Holy Cross Lutheran in Wheaton
- Immaculate Conception Parish in Elmhurst
- Lutheran Church of the Master in Carol Stream
- St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Downers Grove
- St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lombard
- St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church of Chicago in Lombard
- Visitation Catholic Church in Elmhurst
“It is wonderful to have my own place and be able to rest when I need to. Being on dialysis multiple times a week, my health is much more stable now that I’m in housing,” Jacob, who recently moved into one of the 12 new Supportive Housing units.
DuPagePads
For over 30 years of service, DuPagePads is the largest provider of services to those who are homeless in DuPage County. DuPagePads’ solution to ending homelessness is housing, coupled with support services and employment to restore hope and transform lives. The administration office is located at 601 West Liberty, Wheaton, IL 60187. Additional information can be obtained by contacting DuPagePads at 630.682.3846 or at www.dupagepads.org.
Story and photos submitted by Sarah Swiston, Communications and Grants Manager, for DuPagePads.
