The way Rev. Hezekiah Brady sees it, every five or six years, someone decides to save Pembroke Township from its chronic poverty and dearth of services.
But after a year or two, the would-be rescuers fade away, Brady said, discouraged by the slow pace of progress in the rural Kankakee County landscape dotted by old trailers, weedy fields and clouds of dust kicked up by vehicles going down nearly impassable dirt roads.
These days, however, some residents hope a new round of private efforts and a push from state government will go a long way toward helping the poor in Pembroke Township, where the per capita income is just $9,600, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
In the last year, help has been arriving from points near and far. A group of families in New York began sending boxes of food each month to needy families in Pembroke. Evanston high school students raised money to buy Thanksgiving turkeys. Churches in the Chicago suburbs began helping repair dilapidated roofs and creaking doors.
And since summer ended, a state initiative called “Team Illinois” has painted a playground with bright reds and yellows and sent staff members to sign up more residents for food stamps and job training.
So far nobody is promising the prizes that Pembroke residents long have hoped for–gas stations, a fully stocked grocery store and more street lighting–but the locals want to believe the goodwill will mean at least some lasting improvement in people’s lives.
“We’re hoping these resources, and availability of development in this area, create jobs,” said Jon Dyson, mayor of Hopkins Park in Pembroke Township. “What we really want to see is that the opportunity be given to the people to change the course of their lives.”
Dyson agrees that real economic development must come to Pembroke to make lasting changes in the region of about 50 square miles. He favored a now-defunct plan to build a prison in Pembroke Township because of the infrastructure it would have brought, namely natural gas lines.
More Top Picks Best Snoo Alternatives
Now, homeowners and business owners must pay for more expensive bottled gas, which is a turn-off when recruiting businesses. Gov. Rod Blagojevich stopped construction of the prison because of the cost, but state officials have not decided what will be put in that location.
Even so, Dyson says a tranquil rural life and an abundance of land make it a desirable place for new subdivisions, and he hopes to help persuade housing developers to make a go of it in Pembroke.
Frank Wilson, 67, could provide a testimonial. His retirement to Pembroke Township has been blessed. A former barber from Chicago, Wilson moved there five years ago, drawn to the open space. A longtime city dweller, he often had visited relatives for long weekends and vacations in Pembroke.
“It was just like a country outing,” Wilson said. “I did fall in love with it, even with the poverty.”
Now, Wilson lives in a subsidized apartment for senior citizens. Calling himself a “baby senior,” Wilson spends much of his day volunteering to help older residents get on and off a bus that collects them from their homes and drops them off at Pembroke Township Senior Citizens Center, where they eat meals and have outings.
Irene Seals, a Pembroke Township resident and case manager for Catholic Charities’ efforts in Pembroke, wants to see more seniors get involved. A longtime resident of Pembroke, she knows many seniors don’t venture out of their homes for subsidized meals or sign up for government programs because of a lack of trust.
Seals often makes home visits, checking on people who may have lost water service or who need more heating gas. The hope is that eventually there will be fewer people needing assistance.
“We’re waiting to see,” Seals said. “The governor made a lot of promises.”
Susan Locke, acting deputy press secretary for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which is overseeing Team Illinois, said the governor’s staff is committed to the effort. She said part of the emphasis is to keep tabs on people, such as those who attended an employment fair but did not get a job.
“There’s somebody who’s working with each of these people one on one, to keep them headed on the path toward employment,” Locke said.
Besides the state programs, media attention on Pembroke Township has moved people from wealthier areas to help. Last year, Pam Koner of Hastings-on-Hudson in suburban New York City read a story in the New York Times about the poverty in Pembroke.
As a result, she organized a group to send groceries to needy families in Pembroke Township. About 75 families now are linked, but Koner is hoping to expand her program to other areas of rural poverty, such as in Florida.
“We want to fill the gaps between the week the food pantry runs out [of food] and the new shipment comes in,” Koner said.
In addition, a handful of churches in the Chicago suburbs have taken the region under their wing, repairing homes and donating food.
“We’re trying to build some sustainability, where the residents themselves are involved,” said Ben Garrett, minister of justice for New Faith Baptist Church in Matteson. “We’re really trying to involve them.”
Garrett said his group would like to hire a Pembroke resident to pick up food from the Greater Food Depository, which is cheaper than having individuals donate food to the food pantry.
Brady, who moved from Pembroke Township to Richton Park about four years ago because of health problems, sometimes worships at New Faith and helped get the church involved in Pembroke.
But for 40 years, he was pastor of Pembroke Community Reform Church.
“I was able to stay in Pembroke for all those years because I was willing to take little successes at the time,” he said. “There are people who come to Pembroke and think they are going to change it overnight.”