Hesed House still needed after 25 years

Hesed House of Aurora held an open house Sunday to honor the 25th anniversary of the Public Action to Deliver Shelter, or PADS.

But the day was bittersweet.

"We celebrate the community's hard work, but we're not celebrating that we're still here," said Ryan Dowd, executive director at Hesed House. "This organization was planned to be open temporarily -- it wasn't supposed to be around 25 years later."

Hesed House is an umbrella organization that is home to many different ministries for the homeless of Aurora and Kendall County.

The Aurora Soup Kitchen operates out of Hesed House on Mondays and Fridays, serving the community's poor.

The Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry works out of Hesed House between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, offering bags of food to needy families.

Part of Hesed House is reserved for the Transition Living Center. TLC is organized into apartments in order to prepare people for life outside the shelter.

And PADS operates with the help of volunteers and donations to provide up to 250 people every day with food, shelter and a place to clean up.

"We don't turn anyone away," said Dave Glynn, who gave tours during Sunday's open house. "We serve dinner until the food is gone and people can sleep anywhere there's room."

Aside from basic physical needs, Hesed House provides the homeless with opportunities to start over, bringing in counselors to help with specifics.

"We don't just act as an emergency shelter," Glynn said. "We like to get them through the system and back on their feet as soon as possible."

Jon Knebel, a volunteer with Hesed House who also lead tours, said case managers create an action plan for individuals to get back into the community.

Though Hesed House is located in a 45,000-square-foot building, they have barely enough room to house their operations.

To solve the problem, Hesed House plans to purchase a building across the street to house more support programs and give people job opportunities.

"The idea is not to host more homeless people, but to host more services to help them move through here," Glynn said.

Hesed House will be seeking extra community support to purchase the new building. Donations are always accepted, as well as volunteers, especially during the summer months when public awareness of homelessness decreases.

Donations may be sent to 659 S. River St. in Aurora. For details, call (630) 897-2156.