By Pioneer Press staff
Pioneer Press
Nov 02, 2021 2:05 PM
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.
“Paradise Square” cast members perform together during a rehearsal Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 at the Nederlander Theatre. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Agency that prevents, remedies homelessness in Oak Park, Franklin Park, Elmwood Park, River Forest gets award
The Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago is honoring a west suburban agency, Housing Forward, with its Community Excellence Award for 2021 on Nov. 4 at a virtual event.
Housing Forward serves Oak Park, River Forest, Elmwood Park, River Grove, Franklin Park, Northlake and numerous other west suburbs, according to its website. It also states the agency takes steps to prevent homelessness as well as remedy homelessness.
The award recognizes individuals and organizations that promote interreligious harmony and the public good. Along with Housing Forward, the council is also honoring the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, Dr. Allison Arwady.
In response to the pandemic, Housing Forward had to pivot to help people experiencing homelessness, said Lynda Scheuler, executive director. The agency moved shelter operations into three hotels and purchased meals for clients from area restaurants.
“The guiding principles that we laid out at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic response was that no one would go unsheltered. Everybody would be placed into a hotel. No one would be returning to the streets after the hotel experience,” said Schueler in a statement.
The agency shifted to an interim housing model, which focuses on finding more permanent housing for clients, the statement said.
Housing center invites people to go to a show about integrated communities, then discuss it
The Oak Park Regional Housing Center, with a mission since 1972 of integrated communities and housing justice, is inviting community members to a performance of a pre-Broadway musical in Chicago, Paradise Square. The musical is set during the Civil War and shows how Blacks and newly-arrived Irish immigrants lived side-by-side and wove together a neighborhood in New York City.
The performance, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, Chicago, will be followed by a community conversation Nov. 20. The performance is a fundraiser for the housing center. For details, see https://oprhc.org/paradise-square/
By Pioneer Press staff Pioneer Press | Nov 02, 2021 at 2:05 PM Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. “Paradise Square” cast members perform together during a rehearsal Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 at the Nederlander Theatre. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Agency that prevents, remedies homelessness in Oak Park, Franklin Park, Elmwood Park, River Forest gets award The Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago is honoring a west suburban agency, Housing Forward, with its Community Excellence Award for 2021 on Nov. 4 at a virtual event. Housing Forward serves Oak Park, River Forest, Elmwood Park, River Grove, Franklin Park, Northlake and numerous other west suburbs, according to its website. It also states the agency takes steps to prevent homelessness as well as remedy homelessness. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that promote interreligious harmony and the public good. Along with Housing Forward, the council is also honoring the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, Dr. Allison Arwady. In response to the pandemic, Housing Forward had to pivot to help people experiencing homelessness, said Lynda Scheuler, executive director. The agency moved shelter operations into three hotels and purchased meals for clients from area restaurants. “The guiding principles that we laid out at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic response was that no one would go unsheltered. Everybody would be placed into a hotel. No one would be returning to the streets after the hotel experience,” said Schueler in a statement. The agency shifted to an interim housing model, which focuses on finding more permanent housing for clients, the statement said. Housing center invites people to go to a show about integrated communities, then discuss it The Oak Park Regional Housing Center, with a mission since 1972 of integrated communities and housing justice, is inviting community members to a performance of a pre-Broadway musical in Chicago, Paradise Square. The musical is set during the Civil War and shows how Blacks and newly-arrived Irish immigrants lived side-by-side and wove together a neighborhood in New York City. The performance, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, Chicago, will be followed by a community conversation Nov. 20. The performance is a fundraiser for the housing center. For details, see https://oprhc.org/paradise-square/