The Village of Oak Park has received a grant of almost $2 million from the State of Illinois to aid asylum seekers who recently arrived from Venezuela and other countries. About $1.2 million of the grant is being used to set up and operate a new temporary shelter at the former St. Edmund’s Parish School, located at 200 S. Oak Park Ave.
Migrants in Oak Park had been staying in temporary shelters at the Carleton Hotel and the West Cook YMCA since November; the two locations held about 100 people between them as of Feb. 15. However, both shelters were closed by the village on Feb. 29.
The new shelter, known officially as the Oak Park Family Transitional Shelter, is operated by a nonprofit organization called West Side Service Connector. It is set to operate Feb. 26 through June 30, giving more time to move families into long-term housing. “Our role is to work our way out of business,” said Jack Crowe, director of the nonprofit. “We will be an abject failure if in June there are still 100 people here.”
Although not as spacious as the previous locations, the new shelter will aim to ensure migrants get access to services such as job training and English language programming that can help them to build lives for themselves in or around the community. “It’s not going to be as nice as the Carleton or the YMCA,” said Crowe. “But we have put together a pretty comprehensive plan.”
Although West Side Service Connector will largely run the day to day operations of the shelter, the village itself is taking on the lease for the property from the Archdiocese of Chicago, though they will not need to pay any rent for the use of the space. The original plan was to have WSSC lease the site, but the Archdiocese required the village to do so as a condition for using the building for a temporary shelter.
The final plans were approved by the village board on Feb. 15. Trustee Lucia Robinson, one of three dissenting votes, cited added costs as an issue with the new plan. “We would have to obtain insurance,” said Robinson. “It exposed us to some liabilities that we would not have had originally.”
The board also voted to request additional money from the state to help cover the salaries of three temporary employees hired by the village to supervise the shelter. Despite the change in plans, Robinson does believe that the shelter will still be a net benefit to the community. “There is a very good chance that the program that’s going to be offered out of St. Edmund’s is going to be great,” Robinson said. ”I’m very hopeful.”
Another $300,000 will go to the interfaith organization Community of Congregations to be used for the Resettlement Task Force, a group of volunteers working to help move asylum seekers into permanent housing. The task force has been moving quickly in recent weeks ahead of the shutdown of the Carleton and YMCA shelters. Now, the state grant has given more time and money for the resettlement efforts. “The St. Edmund’s shelter is a great safety net to make sure the folks don’t have to go back into the Chicago shelter system,” said task force volunteer Brynne Hovde.
The task force is limited in what they can do with the money from the state. The grant only covers expenses incurred through June 30. “When we’re signing a lease for 12 months, we can only pay for the first four months with that money,” said Hovde. “We have to pay for the additional eight months out of a separate pot of money.”
Nonetheless, the grant will be very helpful for the task force, despite the restrictions. “We’re very grateful,” said Hovde. “Without it, we would be in a much worse position.”
