PADS of Elgin will keep its doors open through early summer with an emergency $200,000 grant approved by the Elgin City Council.
“We appreciate the support as PADS and the city continue to work toward a more robust network of homelessness response in Elgin,” PADS Executive Director Katie Shaw Thompson said.
The grant was the result of PADS telling city officials it was facing an immediate funding shortfall and required short-term financial assistance to maintain operations through the end of its fiscal year in June.
Last fall, PADS had a $500,000 shortfall due to the end of COVID-19 emergency funding. With a $1.7 million budget, the nonprofit reached out to the community to seek donations to keep them going for another six months and was able to raise $438,000, Shaw Thompson said.
“The community rose to the task, and we successfully got through (those) six months,” she said. “We are now at the end of April, and we are not having the funds to make up the rest of what we need.”
PADS has done everything it can to cut expenses, reducing its monthly expenses from $140,000 to $98,000, but the budget gap remained, Shaw Thompson said.
Elgin’s emergency grant will “help us get through the end of the fiscal year,” which ends June 30, she said.
Funding provided by the city is coming from budget funds allocated to its homelessness response, officials said. Elgin has also secured $400,000 in state funding through the Illinois Department of Human Services to support targeted unsheltered response efforts, according to city documents.
City council members approved the grant at last week’s meeting. There was no discussion or comment prior to the 7-2 vote, with council members Steve Thoren and Rose Martinez abstaining.
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The year-round PADS homeless shelter, located at 1730 Berkley St., opened in 1989 and currently serves about 30 people.
In addition to providing shelter, the agency also offers support services, case management and other assistance to individuals and families facing homelessness. Separate sleeping areas are available for men, women and children as well as a place to shower, do laundry and eat daily meals. Programs offered include financial literacy, life skills training and employment assistance.
Administrators are having to make difficult decisions “while trying to maintain a safe and effective program,” Shaw Thompson said. “We’re trying to keep the house open.”
“We are hopeful that we have a plan for the next fiscal year but we do still need substantial support from private contributions to maintain operations,” she said.
They hope to raise funds at a Garden Party event being held June 7, and they’re seeking to increase the number of monthly donations they receive to build up a sustainable funding source as well as increasing its volunteer base, Shaw Thompson said.
A stakeholder meeting on May 19 will allow them to present a detailed fiancial outlook and to offer more information about what PADS does, she said. It’s critially important that the agency stay afloat given the increasing homeless issue in the area, she said.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported an “unprecedented rise in homelessness driven by the nation’s affordability crisis,” according to its website. Homelessness increased 18% between 2023 and 2024. Figures for 2025 will be available in December.
The increase can be seen around the city as more tent cities pop up, Shaw Thompson said.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing proposed cuts targeting programs like Emergency Housing Vouchers and some permanent housing grants.
While the numbers are rising, “the funding is not readily available, particularly at the federal level,” Shaw Thompson said.
PADS Board of Directors member Kristal Thompson, who worked in corporate jobs for 20 years, said she had to give up a new job with the state of Illinois after she learned she had a lung-related illness. Speaking at the council meeting where the request for emergency funding was made, Thompson said she’s living proof of how quickly life can change.
“I’m one of those people who say it can happen to anyone and never thought it could happen to me,” Thompson said. When she could no longer work and had gone through all of her savings, “I found myself losing my home, my job, my car, everything,” she said
“I tell people I was blessed to be in the great city of Elgin that has PADS,” Thompson said.
She was able to stay at PADS during the COVID-19 pandemic. It kept her from living on the streets and being exposed to an illness that would have been life-threatening, she said.
Since then, Thompson has been able to obtain disability assistance and get housing. She’s now an advocate for the homeless and has spoken nationally on the topic.
“Every time I speak out, I always bring it back to Elgin and to PADS and the importance that we are there and we remain there for people like myself and people we see every day,” Thompson said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.