Du Page homeless hit the road // Many endure long walk to shelter

On Sunday mornings, many of Du Page County's homeless peoplestart the frigid 14-mile hike from St. Scholastica Catholic Church inWoodridge to new overnight quarters in Villa Park.

The homeless people - an increasing percentage of whom holdjobs - have nowhere else to turn in Du Page County. Each night, theymove to a different church for meals and a warm place to sleep.

"We have a lot of working poor this year - people making $5 anhour," said Barbara Brent, program coordinator of Public Action toDeliver Shelter. "Trying to find an apartment in Du Page on that ishard."

With a network of 14 churches providing accommodations andsome 60 more providing volunteers and supplies, PADS gives supper,breakfast and shelter to a nightly average of 25 to 30 people.

Last year, PADS served 12,500 meals.

In Chicago, there are 53 shelters with about 2,500 beds, butthat doesn't begin to accommodate the estimated 40,000 homeless inthe city.

"The turn-away statistics are astounding," said Michael Marubioof the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. "The 19 family shelters inChicago turned away nearly 2,000 people in October of 1988 simplybecause they had no room for them."

Chicago's homeless start lining up hours before shelters open.But the odds are against them.

"We've never had to turn away women - until this year," saidthe Rev. Jim Hoffman, director of Franciscan House of Mary andJoseph, a 250-bed shelter at 2715 W. Harrison.

Judith Walker, commissioner of human services, said the largerissue is "low-income housing" but that for now, warming centers areavailable for those who are turned away from overcrowded shelters.

In Du Page County, many of those who don't have homes do havecars, which in this sprawling area is virtually a prerequisite forholding a job. But operating a car can soak up funds needed for anapartment security deposit of $1,000 or more.

For those without transportation, the trek to a differentchurch each night can be an all-day effort, Brent said. For safetyand liability reasons, volunteers are not supposed to providetransportation, although they often do anyway.

On Sunday evenings, the PADS rotation schedules some visitorsat St. Mary Magdalen Episcopal Church in Villa Park. Many of thosewho spent the previous night in Woodridge have cars or get rides orhitchhike, but others must walk, Brent said.

"They spend most of their days walking, trying to figure outwhere to go to get warm," she said. "They might go into a Wag'srestaurant for a cup of coffee; they might go to the gas station anduse the bathroom; they go hang out in the Jewel or a library."

Even on the North Shore, the homeless outnumber the availablebeds. There are 30 beds in the only shelter for the homeless on theNorth Shore, at the First Baptist Church of Evanston. But the Rev.Robert V. Thompson said that as many as 48 people at a time used theshelter when the weather started turning cold in October.

Providing decent and affordable housing for low- andmoderate-income people would reduce the numbers of homeless by 65percent, he said.

Gary Wisby contributed to this story.