What: Lake County’s Public Action to Deliver Shelter Crisis Services, or PADS, has been providing emergency shelter, food and face-to-face crisis intervention for more than 20 years.
What they do: Fourteen sites are open October to April, as well as the Family Center, a year-round site that provides emergency shelter for 42 people, mostly women and children, said Sandy Stephens, director of operations and services.
Situated in area churches and one park district, two sites are open each weeknight on a rotating basis from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. throughout the county, said Stephens.
An estimated 120 to 140 people go to PADS for shelter each night, Stephens said.
Visitors are bused to the shelters from the Family Center, checked in by a site manager, have supper, can watch TV and then bed down for the night.
In the morning, they eat breakfast and are driven back to the Family Center. Some go to work but others stay at the center, which offers classes, counseling, showers and laundry facilities and telephone and mail service.
“When [visitors] come in, we see what their needs are,” said Stephens. “We have more programs now that we’ve opened the Family Center.”
The goal is for visitors to eventually leave the streets and be self-sufficient in a safe, affordable environment.
PADS also offers a Safe Haven program for adults who are chronically homeless, have severe mental illness or a recurrent substance-abuse problem.
How you can help: Lynn Smith, 63 of Lake Forest has volunteered at PADS since the early 1990s. He also helps build homes for Habitat for Humanity in the summer.
His job as a commercial real estate broker gives him flexibility to volunteer, and he thinks helping others is important.
“That’s something we ought to be doing as human beings,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Volunteers work four-hour shifts setting up the pads and linens and preparing dinner, monitoring the site while visitors sleep, waking them, preparing breakfast and putting away pads and linens. New volunteers receive on-site training with an experienced volunteer.
The greatest need is during the 11 p.m.-to-3 a.m. and 3 a.m.-to-7 a.m. shifts, Smith said.
To volunteer for the coming season, call 847-689-4357, ext. 121.