Marcusson says she's leaving Lazarus House in good hands

Even though Darlene Marcusson has been synonymous with Lazarus House since it opened in June of 1997, the founder and executive director of the St. Charles homeless shelter would tell you she is to blame for the area not having a shelter earlier.

"St. Charles had a problem and didn't know how to solve it," said Marcusson, who will step down in January after 13 years as executive director. "People were sleeping on benches all night and it was thought that maybe these were just teenagers, so the city came up with a law that it was illegal to be a vagrant.

"It wasn't done to be mean," Marcusson added. "I think it was just done in hopes that it would move people along."

When Marcusson became aware of the law, she used her gut feeling and an awareness of the problem from working at the Hesed House shelter in Aurora for four years to approach the city with the idea for a local homeless shelter.

"I'm not proud of this, but I never thought the community would support the idea, so I figured it was low-risk, and I would go in there, they would say no, and that would be it," Marcusson said. "To my shame, I grossly underestimated the tremendous generosity of this community, and if there is someone to blame for Lazarus House not coming sooner, it is me."

No one would blame Marcusson for anything, other than being an exemplary citizen and main crusader for a shelter that has now served hundreds of families and expanded into a 501c3 organization offering transitional living and outreach programs.

The 17-member Lazarus House board of directors has decided that associate director Liz Eakins will take over Marcusson's role as executive director when Marcusson steps back to spend more time with her family, particularly her daughter in Florida, during the winter months.

"Darlene is still the story of Lazarus House and she will continue to be a great ambassador for our mission," said Eakins, who has been with the organization for five years in roles as an emergency shelter case manager and head of the outreach programs before becoming associate director two years ago.

"I have a lot to learn, but I will be working side-by-side with Darlene for the next six months," Eakins said. "There is room for me to grow, but I won't be coming in not having any concept of what our mission is."

Eakins had a thorough understanding of that mission even before coming to work for Marcusson in 2005. She worked for the Tri-City Corps of the Salvation Army and met Marcusson during those occasions in which the two organizations worked together.

"We've been aware of each others' work since 2000," Eakins said. "After I left the Salvation Army, Darlene felt I would be a good fit at Lazarus House.

"It didn't happen right away, but two years later, Darlene called and said it was time."

That has turned into another "time" - the time for Marcusson to pass the shelter's torch to her second-in-command.

"My plan is to spend more time with my husband and family in semiretirement," Marcusson said. "I won't disappear, but it's time for me to start packing my tent.

"Liz will be a wonderful leader for the organization," Marcusson added. "She has lived in St. Charles since she was a child, has been with us for five years, knows the mission and is energetic and very smart."

The Lazarus House opened as a summer shelter in 1997, but became a year-round shelter in the spring of 1998, about six months after the Free Methodist Church at 214 Walnut St. in St. Charles became the permanent site. It began as a homeless shelter for St. Charles individuals and families facing tough times, and later expanded to include Geneva, Batavia and western Kane County residents.