Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Homelessness and Poverty in DuPage

Normally weekends are family time, going to soccer games, dance competitions or catching up on things that need to be done around the house.  Every once in a while an event comes up that is so important, you miss a game or a competition.  That was this weekend.  This past Saturday DuPage County Board Member Laurie Nowak, District 6, Representative Deb Conroy (D) 46th District and I spent over three hours listening and learning about homelessness and poverty in DuPage County.   Candance King, Executive Director of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform has offered to take Laurie Nowak and I on a tour and show us first hand how they are working with the homeless and poor in DuPage.  Looking forward to meeting with Ms. King and sharing the information with the DuPage County Health and Humans Services Committee, of which I am a member. 

Nonprofits address homelessness, poverty in DuPage County




DuPage County has a reputation as one of the wealthier areas in Illinois.
However, more than 46,000 of its 930,000 residents are classified as "low income."
Nearly 1,400 are homeless.

These numbers come courtesy of Candace King, executive director of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform and one of the presenters at the "Opening Doors for the Homeless: A Christian Response" seminar held Nov. 9 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Villa Park.
King joined Bob Palmer, policy director for Housing Action Illinois, and John Hayner, CEO of Bridge Communities, in discussing low-income residents and homelessness in the county.

The trio addressed nearly 50 people, including a state representative and two County Board members, about what can be done to help those in need.   You can read the full story here.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for pointing this out. The numbers are growing as wages continue to sink and corporate profits rise. Working people in our community cannot always afford housing with the wages provided.

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