“If they close, I’ll be back on the street again,” said Marilyn Franklin, a client or resident of Residents for Effective Shelter Transitions (REST). That was the general consensus as people collected at noon in the parking lot of 941 W. Wilson Ave. Sunday, Feb. 17. “They have helped me so much. I hope somebody will help them,” said Franklin.
Kathleen Gillespie, a REST board member, made the announcement everyone was waiting for but no one wanted to hear, “As of March 1, 2002, the Board of
Directors has voted to close two shelters putting 45 women and 60 men out on the street—unless we receive $150,000.” Social services that aid transition into society and a productive life are also at risk.
REST has been pleading with the city’s Department of Human Services (DHS) as far back as October. “Again, we said at our meeting Dec. 3, 2001, that we will close,” said Mike O’Hara, REST President. “DHS and the administration say they are concerned about homeless issues but they haven’t committed to any monetary support. It’s time to back their concerns with action.”
Fifty-eight percent of Rest’s funds come from state and federal sources and 42 percent from private sources that include foundations, corporations, religious institutions and individuals. They spend 92 percent of their 1.5 million dollar budget on shelter and social services for the homeless. Only 8 percent is spent on administration.
Since Sept. 11, all funding sources are stressed. The federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program delayed payment for three months. “There has been no increase in city funds in seven years while the costs of heating, rent, salaries, and insurance have skyrocketed,” Gillespie added.
Kathy Ahler, REST Executive Director, stated that many people think that the solution to the homeless problem is building apartments, “but not everybody on the street is ready to walk into an apartment. The emergency services, the shelters, are the first step. Without them the safety net is broken.”
After shelter, REST provides a host of programs helping people to return to society. REST has Social Security counseling, dependency programs, medical and psychological treatment, and employment programs. “You can’t just dump people somewhere and expect them to live productive lives without social service programs. All of it is in jeopardy,” Ahler said.
REST began in 1979 when Uptown residents found a man frozen to death in a dumpster. The neighborhood banded together to form a volunteer group that has grown to a full service agency for shelter, social services, and housing, helping nearly 3,000 people a year with 10 professionals on staff. “People were outraged that in the richest country in the world this homeless man with no name could freeze to death,” O’Hara said, as he stood next to a green dumpster. “The problem has not gone away. It has gotten worse.”
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