Housing Forward agency leaders said it will be able to double capacity of its new emergency overnight shelter in Oak Park thanks to a new grant from Cook County.
Housing Forward, a non-profit agency focused on eliminating homelessness in Chicago’s near west suburbs, received a $250,000 grant from the county’s Department of Planning and Development that will allow it to add beds to its new emergency shelter at 112 S. Humphrey Ave. in Oak Park ahead of the site’s opening.
The agency also announced that it has named the soon-to-be-opened shelter after longtime volunteer and homelessness services advocate Pat Anderson.
“This investment from Cook County will help us meet an urgent and unfortunate growing need in our community,” said Housing Forward CEO Lynda Schueler. “In 2024, Housing Forward saw an 18% increase in unsheltered homeless across its 26-community service area. By expanding our shelter capacity and offering more comprehensive support, we’re not just providing beds — we’re opening doors to long-term housing stability.”
The agency is opening the shelter to serve clients to replace the emergency shelter that’s been in operation at the St. Cathrine-St. Lucy Rectory. That shelter was overcapacity 53% of the time last year, according to the agency.
Housing Forward is able to open the space, which will also feature a commercial kitchen for preparing meals on site, in large part due to the nearly $367,000 in funding approved by Oak Park’s village government for the project in February, agency officials said.
The new grant allows the agency to double its bed capacity at the overnight shelter from 20 to 40, with the expanded space expected to be open to clients by mid-September, the agency said.
The grant announcement comes after Schueler told Wednesday Journal that as much as 25% of the agency’s operating budget was at risk as result of major cuts to housing assistance programs included in the new federal budget passed by congress earlier this month.
