Homeless shelter in unincorporated Kane Co. battling with neighbors

The first homeless shelter in unincorporated Kane County won't come without a fight from people who do have homes.

An organization known as H.E.L.P.S. Ministry wants to convert an old Salvation Army building at the intersection of Tuscola and Courier Avenue in unincorporated St. Charles into an emergency shelter. The shelter would house up to 20 people plus three shelter staff members every night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

But nearly a dozen residents in the surrounding area already have voiced concerns about a shelter opening in their neighborhood. Concerns range from disease control and homeless people interacting with children at a nearby bus stop to homeless people walking through private backyards to access the shelter and lingering outside the building.

Angelo Valdez, who runs H.E.L.P.S. Ministry, spent most of his appearance before the Kane County Board's Development Committee Tuesday pledging to operate responsibly.

"We ran an emergency shelter in Elgin for 4 1/2 years," Valdez said. "We had two police calls. All of those are fears in advance for something that might happen. None of the complaints are current events."

The shelter, if approved, would operate in Kane County Board Member John Hoscheit's district. Hoscheit said he's spoken with local homeowners' association presidents and believes the consensus of residents in the area is that the goals of the proposed shelter are positive.

But, he said, the county should still keep a close eye on making sure the shelter does everything it must to fall within the county codes.

"Neighbors are concerned not really with what has happened, but what could happen," Hoscheit said. "We could have all the rules we want, but who's going to enforce that as a practical matter. We don't have the staff for that. Let's look at it based on the use and the neighborhood and decide what's best for the neighborhood."

County staff told the committee they believe Valdez understands what must be done to run the shelter by the book. Proof of that is evident in the upgrades Valdez made to the building, they said.

Key to moving forward will be Valdez' ability to conform with strict standards for air quality and ventilation. With the shelter planning to house people in a basketball gym, the county is paying close attention to the ventilation of the gym after air quality problems recently led to the spread of tuberculosis at an Aurora homeless shelter.

The committee will review the shelter's proposal again on July 20. Neighbors with concerns promised to show up in force at that meeting to make sure their issues are addressed before a final vote.