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‘It’s a dream come true for all of us’: New Illinois Valley PADS shelter ready soon for clients · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  It's a dream come true for all of us. New Illinois Valley
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  Pad Shelter ready soon for clients. Written by Tom Collins. This article
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  is being read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  The
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  new shelter has a security checkpoint with a metal detector to help
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  keep drugs and weapons out. It has three infection control room for
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  individuals or families to recuperate. Staff have the means to protect other
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  clients from contagion. And the new Illinois Valley Pads facility in Ottawa
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  is big about two and a half times bigger than its predecessor.
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  That ensures privacy, dignity, and breathing room for clients and the people
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  who serve them. On Thursday, Pad staff and Ottawa officials cut the
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  ribbon at its recently constructed shelter, located at eleven twenty Canal Street
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  clients will be admitted later in October, and Marissa Trumper for one
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  is eager to get started. It's a dream come true for all
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  of us. It really is, said Trumper, program director for PADS in
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  Ottawa and a stalwart with the organization for seventeen years. We've made
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  the best of what we could with what we had for so
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  many years, and we've had to make a lot of adjustments over
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  the years, but we are finally home. The 4 million 11,264 square
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  foot facility will offer improved living spaces, dedicated rooms for families, and
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  additional support services to better address the needs of those experiencing homelessness.
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  Bob Day, Outreach and Aftercare Coordinator, said the new space will be
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  as much a help to the staff as to the people they
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  serve. Increasingly, PADS is working not only to put a roof over
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  people's heads, but to help them find permanent shelter, jobs, and access
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  to other services such as childcare. Private space for consultations is now
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  more readily available. We're trying to build the program where We can
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  continually help people uh after them get out of housing, they said.
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  We continue to meet with the in an aftercare aspect, not just
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  forget about the and help them through the situations even once they
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  get in housing. We also do an outreach, which is people that
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  are on the streets, that can't come to the shelter, or will
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  not, we work with them, we try and help the at least
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  get somewhere. Brittany Smith, Assistant Program Director for Illinois Valley Pads, said
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  Morale is high among staff. Everyone is impressed with the gleaming facility
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  and the all under one roof offerings. She does, however, think the
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  shelter will fill up swiftly. I have a feeling that our beds
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  will, even though it's more beds than we've ever had before, will
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  still be full, Smith said. Based on last season numbers, that is
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  a reasonable assumption. During the season that ended May 31, Illinois Valley
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  Pads served 556 clients, including 51 family units and 101 children,
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  and provided 29,986 shelter nights. Volunteers and supporters helped serve more than
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  86,000 meals. Notably, 51 clients secured housing and 132 obtained employment.
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  Joanne Sheldon, president of the PADS Board, emphasized that while the project
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  itself is fully funded, the operational costs are not yet known. She
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  urged donors to be extra generous this season as the headcount climbs
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  and the light bills arrive. There'll be a lot of maintenance as
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  we go along the way and we haven't had this facility open
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  before, so we're not sure about how the utilities are going to
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  go in
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  the future, Sheldon said. So yeah, there still is definitely a big
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  need for more financial assistance. People have been very generous. Very generous,
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  she hastens to add. We did receive several very large contributions, and
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  lots of small ones that came from a lot of supportive people
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  here in the community. Donors are needed and are encouraged to visit
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  ivypads.com or call 815-224-3047 for ways to help. Donations may also
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  be mailed to POBox 1012 LaSalle, Illinois 61301. Volunteer
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  labor is also needed, particularly in the kitchen. Interested persons or groups
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  are asked to contact Trumper at 815-433-1291 or autowapads at gmail.com.