The Crisis Center for South Suburbia announced executive director Pam Kostecki is stepping down after 10 years of leadership, a tenure that included the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m certainly grateful for the relationships, experiences and shared commitments of serving the community. It’s been a defining aspect of my career,” Kostecki said. “I’ve really enjoyed it. But I do need a break, to be honest.”
The Crisis Center for South Suburbia is a nonprofit organization that provides emergency shelter and other support to people experiencing domestic violence.
“I am certainly the most proud of all the growth we’ve done,” Kostecki said. “We’ve been able to find foundation and grant support to really expand our reach to survivors.”
The center was able to expand its shelter capacity, which is particularly important because of the number of people who are turned away from emergency shelters every year in Illinois, she said.
“We were able to go from 35 beds to 54 beds,” Kostecki said. “Upwards of 3,600 households in a year get turned away, so being able to make that expansion was incredibly important.”
The center has also expanded its volunteer-run Neat Repeats Resale stores in Orland Park and Worth, relocating both to larger locations, she said.
More Top Picks Yoga Mats
The center’s last several years have seen many unforeseen difficulties, Kostecki said.
“It’s been a lot of challenges. COVID being what we thought was going to be the hardest thing that we could overcome,” Kostecki said. “And things just kept on going, one crisis after another.”
In particular, COVID-19 led to major workforce disruptions for the center, Kostecki said.
“Probably the biggest challenge that we faced has been with our volunteer workforce, and also our regular workforce,” Kostecki said. “I mean, it took us five years to rebuild our volunteer workforce, but we did it.”
In recent years, the center has also had to reckon with a major spike in domestic-related fatalities, Kostecki said.
“I believe it’s a 122% increase since 2022,” Kostecki said. “The Crisis Center’s response to that has been to more than double our outreach and community education efforts, so that if people are experiencing domestic violence, they know where to turn.”
The Crisis Center marked its 40th anniversary in 2019. The center has been “incredibly blessed” to benefit from a supportive community, Kostecki said.
“We’re just surrounded by such amazing donors, whether it’s people’s time that they’re donating, or physical contributions to the organization or financial support,” Kostecki said. “We just have been really blessed, and it’s really been a great community to be part of.”
The center is searching for a successor to fill Kostecki’s position. Board President Derrick Lott said in a news release the organization “is deeply grateful for Pam’s incredible service and dedication. She leaves the organization in a steady position, and we are committed to finding a visionary leader to build upon this foundation.”
Kostecki said she is not involved in the selection process, though she will support the organization through the transition.
Kostecki said she’s exploring her opportunities and taking a much-needed break.
“The post-COVID landscape really created significant opportunities for personal reflection, growth and organizational evolution,” Kostecki said. “I think as the organization kind of enters its next phase, that this is a good time for me to pursue new professional opportunities.”