Oak Park, Housing Forward and other partners are working to expand the emergency overnight shelter for unhoused residents at St. Catherine – St. Lucy Rectory to double the number of its beds.
This emergency shelter at 38 N. Austin Blvd. has been in operation since 2023, following the village board’s allocation of $300,000 American Rescue Plan Act dollars for the project in December 2022.
“There’s a real sense of concern and urgency that there are individuals who are sleeping outside,” said Lynda Schueler, Housing Forward’s chief executive officer. “That is a human crisis.”
In addition to the 20 beds available now, individuals experiencing homelessness are provided dinner, breakfast, bagged lunch and basic hygiene facilities such as showers, a hard accommodation to find as evidenced by the migrant resettlement efforts. Housing Forward also employs an engagement specialist at the shelter to help unhoused residents access resources like case management and medical or legal support. The shelter operates from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
A presentation on the shelter expansion was supposed to happen at the July 18 village board meeting, but was postponed to accommodate the discussion regarding funding for the Oak Park Regional Housing Center.
But there’s evidently an increasing need for support for unhoused residents in Oak Park, according to village officials. That has been determined by data collections including the Point-in-Time Count, a report of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, said Vanessa Matheny, special assistant to Oak Park’s village manager for community services.
“I’ve noticed that there [have] been additional individuals that are not accessing shelter and part of that is because of just limitations to what shelter is available,” Matheny said.
Timeline and cost
Matheny said the ideal implementation timeline for this expansion is early fall. But Schueler said that might be a bit optimistic, as funds and sufficient staffing must be confirmed first.
So far, Housing Forward has received a commitment of $500,000 from the State of Illinois for this project, which will help address safety measures and ensure the building meets village codes. For instance, Matheny said the HVAC system and roof need to be improved, along with ensuring fire safety and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
Schueler said she doesn’t yet have an exact estimate for how much the work will cost, but it will likely be at least $500,000 just to reach code compliance on top of other upgrades.
The Archdiocese of Chicago, which owns and leases the space at St. Catherine – St. Lucy, and Housing Forward are also working to apply for Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus funds through the state, at a still to-be-determined amount. Illinois recently allocated about $15 million in CDBG – Coronavirus funds for shelter construction.
The Archdiocese of Chicago and The Neighborhood Bridge, a local nonprofit, have also committed to raising funds for the expansion. Matheny said The Neighborhood Bridge may also provide some social service out of the rectory, but that has not been finalized yet.
“We’re really appreciative of the Archdiocese and Neighborhood Bridge continuing this partnership with Housing Forward and allowing for this to be utilized as an emergency shelter, since that is something that we are missing in this community,” Matheny said.
Other improvements
The rectory also needs to meet zoning requirements before the expansion takes place, Matheny said. It’s zoned as a rectory, where a priest or minister would live, and needs to be zoned as a shelter, she said.
After zoning requirements are met, Schueler said, Housing Forward can utilize some unused space on the second floor to expand accommodations. The rooms will be divided in use for men, women and families.
That also means the dining area will no longer have to serve as a dual-purpose eating area and space for men to sleep, she said. The village is also giving Housing Forward the leftover cots from the migrant response at St. Edmund School for the emergency shelter. Now, visitors sleep on pads on the floor.
Schueler said Housing Forward and the Archdiocese of Chicago are discussing extending their lease that expires July 31 by five years. After expanding to accommodate 40 beds, Schueler said they might add more later.
“We want to hunker down and stay there permanently,” Schueler said.
How the shelter started
The shelter at St. Catherine – St. Lucy Rectory was created after the COVID-19 pandemic threw Housing Forward’s Public Action to Delivery Shelter off balance. This model was a system where faith-based and community organizations provided overnight shelter for unhoused residents on a rotating basis, according to village officials. COVID-19 made it impossible to continue, given shelter-in-place requirements.
Housing Forward then shifted focus to interim housing at The Write Inn. One ongoing problem, Matheny said, is that due to the lack of affordable housing, individuals who transition to interim housing often get stuck waiting to find permanent housing.
And the need for an emergency overnight shelter is still there.
At the rectory, individuals experiencing homelessness have one fixed location to come to without having to figure out where the moving shelter would be and how to get there, like before COVID-19, Schueler pointed out.
In 2023, Schueler said, about 77% of those staying at the emergency shelter were there for only about three weeks or less before their situation was resolved, or they transitioned to interim housing. It’s mostly new visitors who come to the emergency shelter, she said.
Operations at the St. Catherine – St. Lucy Rectory do not disrupt the parish’s day-to-day operations, Rev. Carl Morello said, and the expansion won’t either. The rectory had been unused since around 2021, Morello said, after the last pastor staying there moved to another parish. Repurposing the space for “mission-oriented purposes,” Morello said, is what the church is about.
“[The shelter] will never eliminate [homelessness] altogether, but I think it will provide continuity,” Morello said. “It’s going to be very helpful, but obviously the problem with homelessness is bigger than anybody can really solve with a shelter.”
