Those without a home on Chicago`s Far West Side now have a clean, quiet place to find a bed and a warm meal.
The Willie Mae Johnson Shelter, in the basement of the Habilitative Systems Inc. headquarters at 415 S. Kilpatrick Ave., opened last week with room for 100 people.
The shelter is named after Mrs. Johnson, 80, a former employee of the agency who spent many years working at the headquarters.
It joins two other permanent West Side shelters, for a total of 409 beds available for homeless people. But it is the only one in its neighborhood. There are now 1,768 beds to serve the city`s homeless population estimated at between 12,000 and 25,000, according to Department of Social Services records. The first four people to stay at the new shelter were greeted in a remodeled basement with fresh cream-colored walls and a burgundy-stripe design. The floors are waxed, and there are lockers, showers and a washer-dryer. On order are chairs and a television set for the commons room. The spring-mattress beds have plump pillows, and some of the bedding has stripes and patterns, even of Garfield the cat. But all are colorful.
Lucy Jean Lewis, the shelter`s director, said plenty of color was used to make people feel at home.
”When folks come in here,” Lewis said, ”they won`t feel like they are in jail.”
The shelter, designed for 60 males and 40 females, will serve breakfast and dinner. A change of clothing, if desired, also will be provided, or else the clothing the visitors are wearing will be washed. Lewis said there is only one requirement: that everyone shower.
The center has 16 staff members, some of whom will refer the visitors to public agencies that can help them find permanent solutions to their problems. Those needing medical care will be taken to nearby hospitals. The help, however, is not forced on the visitors, who are welcome at the shelter as long as they are in need.
”We know that everyone will not cooperate, but we won`t punish them by not letting them sleep. We will continue to work with them,” said Frankie Claire, director of public relations and funding for the shelter. ”You can`t solve problems like that overnight.”
Often the homeless are those without a warm place to stay, those who have been laid off from their jobs, those who have been physically abused or those who have lost everything because of fire, Lewis said.
The homeless are not just ”bag people,” as some think, Lewis said. That misunderstanding may have led to community opposition when the Habilitative Systems applied for a zoning permit to build the shelter.
”People were afraid that the shelter would bring in derelicts and other undesirables, and they expected loitering,” Claire said.
After the city granted the permit, agency representatives explained the program during community meetings and got neighbors involved in the shelter. Sixteen community residents were hired to work at the shelter, and two are on the advisory board.
”The program was stressed in a such a way so it should not destroy the core of the neighborhood,” said Larry T. Byrd, director of Habilitative Systems. ”They didn`t want to see long lines waiting to go inside. It is engineered . . . to respect the wishes of the community.”
”They are quite proud of it and they supported it.”
Habilitative Systems Inc. is a nonprofit, community service organization that mostly serves the Austin, Lawndale and West Garfield Park communities. Since 1978, it has provided such services as education, vocational training, housing and drug and alcohol abuse counseling.
The shelter, financed mostly with private funds, also receives public funding and has a $120,000 budget for its first year.
The private funding was sought, Byrd said, because it is more stable than public funds. He said the agency will continue to seek private financing because ”the Gramm-Rudman bill (to reduce the federal deficit) will have impact on the state and local funds.”
The idea for the shelter came from a joint hot-meal program with another agency interested in developing a shelter, but that agency did not have the reputation to attract financing, Byrd said. Those donating funds to establish the shelter felt more confident about Habilitative Systems, he said.
Although the agency has most of the materials it needs to begin, it always can use donations, Lewis said. Those interested in donating can call 261-2252. She said one item needed is pajamas.
Anyone needing emergency housing can call the Department of Human Services, which will refer the person to the nearest shelter. The toll-free number is 1-800-654-8595.
Despite the city`s efforts to find shelter for the homeless, not enough is being done, said Carolyn Milligan, spokeswoman for ”We Dare, Chicago Homeless But Not Helpless.” Milligan formed the group Christmas Eve when she found that homeless people were denied guaranteed shelter.
We Dare protested Tuesday to bring attention to the plight of the homeless by serving a free breakfast of sweet rolls, ham and orange juice to about 125 homeless people in City Hall`s lobby. The gathering was dispersed by security guards before the group got to eat there, and the demonstration was moved outside.
”More shelters as they are now are not acceptable,” Milligan said later. ”They can`t get a job because they don`t have an address . . . and what happens when the shelters are filled?”
