Respond Now, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food and housing assistance in the South Suburbs, celebrated the start of its building renovations in Chicago Heights on Monday, Dec. 17. While there was no physical ground to break, Respond Now representatives held up shovels in front of the building to symbolize the construction that will allow for expanded services.
Renovations will allow Respond Now to double the size of its food pantry, increase the number of provided services and increase the efficiency of its existing services, Respond Now spokespeople said. In a speech, Executive Director Carl Wolf said that Respond Now’s services are needed now more than ever.
“The needs of the community are still going to exist. Despite the fact that we live in the richest country in the world, there’s still going to be need,” Wolf said. “Until we find a way to build a more equitable society, organizations like Respond Now remain necessary. And to that end, we are positioning ourselves to do more – to bring more food into the community, to provide more housing and to do more work with the homeless. “
Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson was among those in the audience during Wolf’s speech
Respond Now spokespeople said future renovations include, but aren’t limited to, a remade lobby with a new entrance, self-serve computers with free internet for clients to apply for jobs or pay bills, a passageway for clients picking up free clothing, a new conference room for board members and a bigger breakroom for staff, which they said is about 30 people in addition to volunteers.
Alex Lindstrom, the director of development at Respond Now, said a greatly expanded food pantry will be the “centerpiece” of Respond Now’s renovations.
“Doubling its size will allow us to offer a greater variety of things,” Lindstrom said. “If there’s a larger area for people to navigate then that’s just more stuff that we can put on the shelves.”
“Throughout suburban Cook County, we’re one of the only agencies that provide as robust of a food pantry while also providing housing services,” Wolf said. “[Clients] know they can come and get food here but when they’re here, they present other needs they may have.”
Respond Now employs social workers who help clients receive food stamps, Medicaid and rental assistance. The facility has a community garden that clients can use to grow their own food.
Respond Now helps put people at risk of homelessness into hotels, provides clients with transportation support, including assistance with bus fares, provides families with back-to-school items such as backpacks and gives Christmas gifts to impoverished children.
Lindstrom said that when Congress cut funding to SNAP, the food stamp program, in March 2023, Respond Now saw the demand for its services “more than double.” This is part of why the agency is making renovations, he said.
Respond Now serves 22 communities in southern Cook County and eastern Will County, including Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Ford Heights, Park Forest, Peotone, Homewood and Flossmoor. The organization was started in 1969, and it’s been at 1439 Emerald Avenue in the southern area of Chicago Heights for about 35 years.
