Aurora nonprofit offers veterans 'Hope for Tomorrow'

This Veterans Day, one Aurora resident and eight-year veteran of the Army National Guard knows where he will be not at a bar or drinking with friends at a cookout, but at his home with Hope for Tomorrow's U.S. Vetcare program, clean and sober.

“Before I came to Hope for Tomorrow, everything in my whole life revolved around drinking,” said Pete Z., whose full name is being withheld for privacy concerns.

Pete is a veteran who has been living in one of Hope for Tomorrow's recovery homes since January, working to end an alcohol addiction.

“It's absolutely changed my life,” he said.

For 11 years, the Aurora nonprofit organization has provided substance-free housing and counseling for recovering addicts. Recently, it began the Vetcare program, and currently houses seven veterans, said founding President and Clinical Director Jeff Gilbert.

“We started with five beds and we've advanced to five residential homes,” he said. “What I think we've always tried to do is look at what services are short in the community and try to meet the need.”

The organization is in the process of renovating two homes on Lake Street that it purchased with a $450,000 grant from the city of Aurora. The extra space will allow Hope for Tomorrow to assist more veterans struggling with alcoholism, drug addictions or post-traumatic stress disorder, Gilbert said.

The properties, at 469 and 479 N. Lake St., both are in need of interior repairs to turn them into offices and residences for Hope for Tomorrow staff and clients, Gilbert said.

And Hope for Tomorrow always is looking for donations of people's time, materials and money to help with the renovations, said Janet Gilbert, co-founder of Hope for Tomorrow and Jeff's wife.

The organization was awarded a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in September, but is awaiting receipt of the money from the state.

The goal is to use 469 N. Lake St., a 3,880-square-foot red brick house built in 1920, as living space for 14 more veterans, and to convert 479 N. Lake St., a 4,200-square-foot house built in 1880, into offices and classrooms where Hope for Tomorrow staff can offer counseling sessions, relapse prevention and treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Gilbert said.

“Our service people helped us by protecting our country, and we feel we should help them,” Janet Gilbert said. “That's our idea. They deserve it.”

The organization also offers occupational training and life skills courses to its clients.

But it's Hope for Tomorrow's structured lifestyle that has helped keep Pete sober and give him a sense of personal responsibility, he said.

“It's a totally different way I wasn't accustomed to,” he said.

Pete began taking classes this fall at Aurora University, working toward a bachelor's degree in psychology. He said he's been enjoying his sober downtime by experiencing the cultural aspects of Aurora and Chicago.

“For now, I have no immediate plans of leaving,” Pete said about his residence in a Hope for Tomorrow recovery home. “It's been serving wonderfully for me.”