Community Corner

Kendall County Homeless Shelter Program Seeks New Director

The Kendall County PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) program is seeking a new executive director to lead its efforts in 2020.

The number of homeless people the Kendall County PADS program serves has almost tripled since last winter.
The number of homeless people the Kendall County PADS program serves has almost tripled since last winter. (Shutterstock)

KENDALL COUNTY, IL — Kendall County PADS is searching for its next executive director, as the number of homeless people the program serves has almost tripled since last winter.

Anne Engelhardt, who has been the executive director on a volunteer basis since the program began 10 years ago, announced last summer that she plans to step down at the end of this season. The PADS Board of Directors would like to have the next executive director in place before the end of this season so they can train with Engelhardt.

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PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) provides overnight shelter and food to the homeless in the Kendall County area at seven different sites, one each night of the week. It operates daily from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. from mid-October through mid-April, staffed entirely by volunteers.

The sites are seeing as many as 20 guests a night this winter, compared to an average of about seven a night last year.

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Although Kendall County was recently ranked the richest in Illinois in a Wall Street 24/7 report, and unemployment is low, there is a shortage of affordable housing here. A report by Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment here, an individual at a minimum wage job would have to work 99 hours a week.

Six churches and one school (Cross Lutheran Church, Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ, Harvest New Beginnings, Trinity Church United Methodist, Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, St. Luke's Lutheran Church and Parkview Christian Academy) each offer shelter, dinner and breakfast at their site one night a week. PADS guests are also provided a sack lunch as they leave in the morning.

The PADS Board of Directors is looking for an executive director who has a passion for the mission of Kendall County PADS to continue the work Engelhardt has done in this position.

The executive director works under the direction of a Board of Directors to supervise site coordinators and social work interns working at the sites, as well as coordinating community outreach with area agencies. The executive director works with assistant directors who coordinate volunteer recruitment and training, guest services including transportation from site to site, site supplies, publicity and clerical services.

Anyone interested in the position can send a resume to Kendall County PADS, P.O. Box 1136, Yorkville IL 60560.


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