South Suburban Public Action to Deliver Shelter (SSPADS), a local nonprofit that provides aid and shelter to those facing homelessness or housing insecurity, recently moved its offices from Chicago Heights to Homewood to better serve clients and expand staffing capabilities.

SSPADS occupies the entire office building at 950 175th Street, a space significantly larger than its previous location.

“We grew from roughly 25 staff to 42 staff, and we grew from about a $3 million budget to an $8.5 million budget in about the past five years,” SSPADS Executive Director Doug Kenshol said.

Kenshol said the need for housing services skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and because of cost-of-living increases, “it hasn’t ever come down.” 

SSPADS is mostly funded through donations and grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state of Illinois, Kenshol said.

“In a few communities, such as Homewood, homeowners can elect to make donations through their water bills,” Kenshol said. “It was a bigger source of funding 10 to 15 years ago. It has been dwindling because the program hasn’t been promoted much.”

SSPADS offers temporary housing to unhoused people, permanent housing support services to people with disabilities, temporary rent subsidies to low-income households and other aid and services for those facing housing insecurity due to poverty or abuse.

Clients have the option of using the SSPADS address for their mailing addresses, staff said.

While other nonprofits with a similar mission have used the PADS acronym, SSPADS is a distinct nonprofit serving clients throughout the South Suburbs.

Emergency Shelter Director Courtney Suchor said “PADS” usually refers to the model of providing housing in church and temple basements. Suchor said the acronym is somewhat of a misnomer for SSPADS because they only provide emergency shelter at hotels, not churches or temples.

“When you are an individual experiencing homelessness, and you have to go from town to town, church to church, every night with all of your belongings, it’s very difficult to feel secure,” Suchor said, explaining why SSPADS switched from utilizing church and temple basements to hotels.

When SSPADS was in Chicago Heights, staff often worked from home and spoke to clients by phone, Kenshol said, adding that at the new location, they see clients face-to-face.

Staff said SSPADS intentionally chose a site with Pace bus access, as many clients don’t own vehicles.

The first floor is dedicated to emergency shelter, which puts clients in hotel rooms, and the shelter diversion program, which prevents them from needing emergency shelter, Kenshol said.

“If they’re staying with grandma, can we help grandma with her water bill, so that she can continue to house their family?” Kenshol said, explaining the diversion program. “If someone has family out of state, can we give them a bus ticket?”

Kenshol said the diversion program also helps clients find living arrangements, such as staying with a family member or at a senior living center, and provides them with hygiene products and winter coats.

The second floor of the agency’s new site is for case managers. The third floor has a staff training space, something Kenshol said SSPADS has never had before, as well as administrative offices and a conference room.

Shelters Operation Manager Rashida Hughes said housing justice “hits home” for her because she’s a 20-year survivor of domestic abuse, and this can lead to homelessness.

“I’m just happy to give back,” Hughes said.