McHenry County expands resources serving homeless community, people in need

The McHenry PADS shelter was quiet as residents read books or cared for children under a roof that until recently, wasn’t available year-round.

As recently as 2019, McHenry County residents experiencing homelessness weren’t always guaranteed a place to stay while they got back on their feet. With a new year-round shelter in McHenry, however, and the introduction of a series of other rehabilitative services throughout the county, the area’s resources for people in need are beginning to catch up to the demand.

“Most of the people that come [to the PADS shelter] are here 30-60 days and we help them get back on their feet and they’re out to a more stable outcome,” said Carrie Freund, the director of homeless services for Pioneer Center, which provides local behavioral health, developmental disabilities and homelessness services.

As of 2019, McHenry County accounted for the fewest number of people experiencing homelessness in Illinois’ northeast region, according to a Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning analysis of HUD point-in-time count data. That same data also showed that McHenry County’s homeless population decreased by 37% (94 fewer people) between 2007 and 2019. And as the county’s homeless population declines, several resources combatting homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse have opened in the area since 2019.

“Right now during [COVID-19], we are only serving at about half capacity,” Freund said Monday. “We have the ability to serve 70 people but with [COVID-19] we keep it right between 37 and 40. And it might surprise you, we’re not always at the 37 or 40. ... We’re moving people out into better outcomes just as quickly as we move people in.”

PADS opened its McHenry shelter in June 2020, serving as a more reliable source of year-round housing for people in need. Until then, the majority of emergency shelter beds in the county operated on a seasonal basis and relied on rotating church sites and volunteers, Pioneer Center Co-CEO Sam Tenuto said.

“The previous shelter, which was located in Woodstock, we only had 34 beds,” Tenuto said. “The churches would open during cold months to handle the overflow.”

The county’s efforts to end homelessness have been in the works for years. In 2016, the McHenry County Continuum of Care to End Homelessness approved a strategic plan that aimed to grow homeless prevention and diversion, align housing with population needs and create paths for successful transitions to more stable housing.

The results weren’t immediate, however.

In 2018, residents raised concerns about behavior including disorderly conduct, panhandling and public indecency. Much of the blame was placed on the Old Firehouse Assistance Center, which opened in an unused city-owned building in 2017 and has since closed.

“That center provided some much-needed services like immediate services to those who were afflicted with homelessness and it did phenomenal work,” Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb said. “One of the byproducts of having that center and it being the backside of City Hall is they were now out in the open much more.”

Around that same time, the city passed ordinances that were criticized by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless as potentially violating the Bill of Rights for the homeless.

Lieb said those rules aren’t intended to target a particular demographic.

“We were very, very careful in the crafting of any ordinances that it was behavior-based and everyone inside the city – no matter who you are – the ordinance applies to that individual,” Lieb said.

The most common citations issued against homeless individuals countywide between Oct. 1, 2019, and Oct. 1, 2021, were possession or consumption of alcohol in a public place.

Woodstock alone issued 57 of the total 65 citations throughout the county that were issued to people who were recorded as homeless or transient, or who listed a local service provider as their address, court records show.

The total number of citations against two particular people experiencing homelessness during that time period accounted for just more than 43% of all the citations issued by Woodstock, court records show.

Although officers sometimes try to connect people with mental health or homelessness services, residents don’t always want the assistance, Lieb said.

“When our officers are interacting with not just the homeless but anybody, they’re making an on-the-scene assessment on whether this person is a harm to themselves or a harm to others,” Lieb said. “That’s pretty basic, but that’s the bottom line. Other than that, we can’t just go up to people and send them to the hospital for a mental evaluation.”

Freund echoed that sentiment, noting that even in the most extreme weather conditions, some people just aren’t interested in staying at the shelter.

“An average of 50% of people who call here who could come and use PADS services don’t …” Freund said. “We may not ever understand that.”

For as much progress as the county has made, there still is work to be done.

“There’s not enough affordable housing in the county, not just this county, but everywhere,” Freund said.

Statewide, there is a demand for rental homes that are affordable and available to extremely low-income households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“That’s huge. Another thing is sometimes not all, but some employers it’s like a double-edged sword,” Freund said. “They go to try to get a job, and they can’t get a job because they don’t have a home. And as soon as some employers – not all – but as soon as some employers see that they live at the homeless shelter they’re not interested.”

Limited bed space and a lack of affordable housing isn’t the only barrier facing McHenry County’s homeless population.

As of 2019, the majority of people experiencing homelessness also lived with severe mental illness, according to the HUD Point in Time data.

People with chronic substance abuse issues and veterans accounted for the second- and third-largest groups of people experiencing homelessness in McHenry County, according to HUD data.

Within the past two years, however, McHenry County’s addiction recovery services have grown significantly. The county now is home to the Northern Illinois Recovery Center, a new sober living retreat and a detox and residential services center slated to open soon in Prairie Grove, to name a few.

The Woodstock-based nonprofit Warp Corps also helps combat substance abuse, mental illness and homelessness by offering alternative creative outlets, information and a workforce development program.

“McHenry County really is unique and strong because there are so many human service providers,” Tenuto said.

McHenry County residents seeking assistance from a social service group or nonprofit can connect to resources through United Way 2-1-1 by dialing either 211 or 888-865-9903. Similar information also can be found online at www.findhelp211.org or through the county’s MCHelp app.

The McHenry County Crisis Line can be reached at 800-892-8900.

A full directory of services in McHenry County and surrounding areas is available in English and Spanish on McHenry County College’s website at www.McHenry.edu/pin.