Less than a week from a second Trump administration, the arrival of the 2024 Point-in-Time-Count of unsheltered individuals in suburban Cook County is especially relevant. Federal support of housing initiatives for the unhoused has been strong during the Biden administration. Considerable federal funds were also available for such efforts through the COVID relief efforts. Locally, the last of that money is about to be spent.
Housing support is one of those critical intersections where federal support and local solutions meet. If federal support withers under a Trump administration, the ability to bring innovative and lasting solutions to those in need will suffer greatly.
In our area, the leading provider of housing solutions across the continuum from an overnight shelter to all varieties of lasting support is Housing Forward. Lynda Schueler, chief executive officer, believes the increase in the unhoused in our specific communities is greater than the overnight count from last January, captured in the wider Cook area. She pegs an increase of about 18% from 2023 to 2024 for Housing Forward’s service area, higher than the 12.5% increase reflected in the full suburban Cook region. That 18% would align with the reported increase in the unhoused nationally.
We are fortunate to have an organization as resourceful as Housing Forward doing this work for our communities, and the effort benefits from community leaders who actively support their work. Challenging days ahead.
Betty White forever
Yes, we’re in a moment when we are more likely to send an email or a text than a first-class letter. Still and all, when it comes to being made immortal, having your image on a United States Postal Service stamp is a good way to go. Right up there with perpetual Golden Girls reruns.
Betty White, born in Oak Park in 1922, will get the full stamp treatment this spring as the USPS unveils her stamp in late March in whatever is left standing of Los Angeles. There will be a secondary event right here in Oak Park’s lovely Art Deco main post office.
The Journal celebrated White’s 100th birthday two years ago with an event and a special section. That’s because even though she lived here for only a short time, White claimed Oak Park as her home through her long and worthy life. She visited the village many times through the mid-1960s to spend time with her aunt and uncle and paternal grandparents who lived on the 200 block of North Taylor. She considered that to be the family home.
We’re always happy to have a way to claim Betty White. Her career in TV comedy goes back to early days. Don’t overlook Life with Elizabeth. She was a hilarious presence on game shows and was married to a game show host. And her passion for saving animals was sincere and effective.
So buy a Betty White stamp and send a letter to a long-lost friend.