PADS to HOPE, Inc.

The agency's overall goal is to not only serve the needs of the unhoused and those at-risk of homelessness but to serve the community as a whole as our efforts provide services for free. This, in turn, offset costs typically absorbed by hospitals, municipalities, and legal systems.

The goal of our PADS Shelter Program is to provide immediate overnight shelter for individuals.

The goal of the HOPE Day Center is to coordinate supplemental, supportive social services for clients to assist them on their paths to housing stability.

The goal of the Pathway Housing Readiness Program is to provide a steppingstone to long-term housing stability for clients.

Over the years, JOURNEYS has transformed from a volunteer-driven, limited-service agency for homeless residents into a comprehensive, professional human service agency for all facing housing crises. Its services bring hope to those facing eviction or foreclosure—including the unemployed and the working poor. While other agencies place demographic restrictions on which populations can access their services, JOURNEYS only has two restrictions: the client must be housing unstable and from one of the 37 communities in the agency's service area. Additionally, all services are free of charge. JOURNEYS is the sole shelter and social services agency providing a Comprehensive Continuum of Care across 37 villages and cities in north and northwest suburban Cook County. JOURNEYS provides immediate shelter through the PADS Emergency Shelter Program, restorative counseling services through the HOPE Day Center, and affordable housing through the Pathways Housing Readiness Program.

The PADS Emergency Shelter Program is the agency's first line of defense for homeless residents seeking shelter. 22 local faith communities partner with the agency by opening their facilities to host these sites year-round. Volunteers offer meals, clothing, respite, and hospitality at safe and secure PADS shelter sites. Volunteers work from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. They also purchase and prepare all the food for the guests.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the PADS shelters were temporarily shut down; this was done to protect clients, staff, and volunteers from contacting the virus. To supplement shelter and provide the tools to self-isolate, the agency was the first in the region to house clients in local hotels through the ongoing Hotel Shelter Program.

Shelter alone is not sufficient to help residents resolve their housing problems. Therefore, all shelter clients are directed to the HOPE Center. Clients can access the Center's emergency resources—such as the food pantry, daily meals, clothing closet, transportation vouchers, and the laundry and shower facilities. Additionally, many can seek help from the clinical staff for housing, vocational, benefits, and mental health counseling.

The agency's Pathways Housing Readiness Program helps clients strengthen their skills for successful independent living. Pathways clients live in two homes owned and operated by the Pathway Development Institute (PDI), a nonprofit real estate holding company and JOURNEYS' exclusive partner. These two homes offer affordable housing and are located in Palatine. The buildings contain five apartment units with room for up to 16 occupants. Clients who reside in a PDI apartment participate in intensive case management at the HOPE Center at least once a week.

JOURNEYS | The Road Home sustains our mission and goals through our professional staff, board, partnerships/collaborations, and diverse funding streams.

Staff
The Management Team includes Elizabeth Nabors, Executive Director; Todd Stull, Clinical Director; and Suzanne Ploger, Development Director. The Clinical team provides clinical services and resources for meeting basic human needs through the PADS Emergency Shelter Program and HOPE Center. The Development team focuses on raising funds through a wide variety of resource streams.

Board
A 16-member board ensures that our organization complies with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations; the board also develops policies and maintains the financial well-being of our organization. The board also assists with fundraising and special events, provides personal contributions, and represents and endorses our agency in the community.

Partnerships and Collaborations
JOURNEYS partners with the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, and we are a member of the Association of Homeless Advocates for the North/Northwest District of Cook County. The HOPE Day Center also partners with the Alexian Brothers Center for Mental Health, the Kenneth Young Center, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Free onsite medical and prescription services for our clients are provided through a partnership with the Heartland Health Outreach. The Northwest Community Hospital provides free emergency room visits and prescriptions for the homeless. JOURNEYS has also established linkage agreements with the police departments in our service area to ensure a continuous flow of information and service. Similarly, we also collaborate with other agencies to assist individuals coming to us outside of our service area seeking assistance. Additionally, our agency continues to form and maintain meaningful partnerships with local groups and individuals that regularly provide food donations and volunteer hours to support the HOPE Center.

Funding streams
JOURNEYS has created a diverse funding stream. This includes: individual donors, local governments, county governments, corporate foundations, corporate match programs, service clubs, faith communities, private foundations, and fundraising events. The state and federal governments also provide funding and support. The agency employs grant writers to seek out and apply for a variety of funding opportunities.

Over the past five years, the agency has helped 3,984 clients. Of these clients, JOURNEYS has transitioned 657 clients into housing, assisted 1,983 unhoused clients, and prevented 1,344 residents from losing their housing. During Fiscal 2021, JOURNEYS served 640 clients, assisting 298 homeless and 342 near-homeless residents. The clinical team transitioned 120 homeless residents into housing and provided a total of 11,597 services throughout Fiscal 2021. The most frequently requested services from clients in 2021 were long-term case management, food assistance, housing counseling, the clothing closet, and personal/grooming supplies.

At the beginning of the pandemic, JOURNEYS was forced to adapt its shelter and supportive services in order to protect clients, staff, and volunteers from contracting the virus. This involved shutting down the PADS sites, creating appointment-only and mobile services at the HOPE Center, and placing clients in local hotels. JOURNEYS was the first agency in its region to use hotels as a source of shelter, and the agency has continued providing supportive services to these clients at the HOPE Center. The Hotel Shelter Program provided a total of 37,777 nights of shelter, and clients received 113,231 meals from the Mobile Meal Program. Since the pandemic began, JOURNEYS never had to shut down its services; the agency quickly adapted and continues to do so today.

The agency cannot know how Fiscal 2022 will appear, but supporting those in need remains and always will remain the top priority. The agency’s projections for next fiscal year include an estimate of approximately 800 clients requiring JOURNEYS’ services. The clinical staff anticipates housing 125 clients and preventing 400 clients from losing their homes to eviction or foreclosure. In the past, the agency has seen 70% of its clients report being unhoused and 30% being at-risk, but for Fiscal 2022, JOURNEYS predicts more than half of its clients will report as at-risk while the remaining report as unhoused.

Those identifying as at-risk seek services like the food pantry, which helps eliminate concerns of not being able to pay rent if the clients buy food for themselves or families. For Fiscal 2022, JOURNEYS predicts it will provide 1,200 food pantry visits in the HOPE Center. As for emergency shelter, the agency expects to see 40,000 nights of shelter along with 120,000 delivered meals, both calculations being two-and-a-half times higher than last fiscal year. With the delivery of education constantly changing from onsite to remote learning and vice versa, it is projected that over 50 children from around 30 school districts will use the School Advocacy Program in order to not fall behind their stably housed peers.