Saving the Last Dance for You...

The Lincoln Park Community Shelter was recently given a grant from the Wrightwood Neighborhood Association (WNA) to help fund our Community Engagement Program (CEP). The WNA also gave grants to over 20 other local organizations. To hand out the grants, they invited all of these organizations, along with members of the WNA, to Lincoln Hall for a celebration filled with delicious food, an open bar, and entertainment provided by local children’s groups and schools. As I attended the event, I could not help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude; after all, isn’t it LPCS that should be dancing and singing for the WNA and all of our other generous donors?

My favorite part of the evening was a performance given by about 15 children. These children dressed up and brilliantly performed the entire play of Romeo and Juliet in just under 3 minutes. As a painfully avid Shakespeare fan, this was more than just a delight. The children must have worked tirelessly to learn the lines, make their costumes, and choreograph a fight scene in which all of them mimicked the star-crossed lovers’ bitter end!

Next, a school’s choir sang songs written by their teacher with the purpose of making the audience laugh. This was followed by two separate dance teams who were more eager to perform than they were nervous to be on stage in front of at least 40 strangers.

It amazed me that I could sit somewhere, have baked mac and cheese provided for me, have groups perform and dance for me, and then be given a check at the very end. What a beautifully generous world we live in where this is a regular occurrence!

To the WNA and to everyone else that continues to give time, hard earned money, and skills and ideas to LPCS, I want to thank you. I want to sing for you. I want to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream in under 3 minutes for you. And most of all, I want to eagerly dance to your favorite song, just to show you how much your contributions mean to everyone at LPCS.

Since I cannot dance for all of you at this time, I will contribute this very embarrassing photo of myself attempting to ice skate for you and hope that it helps to demonstrate just how grateful I am!

Sincerely,

Meghan Freebeck

Volunteer Spotlight Geoff Nykin

We would like to congratulate Geoff Nykin who is our Volunteer Spotlight for December. Geoff has been volunteering as a Track Activities Teacher as a member of the Marketing Task Force committee for over a year. He says that the best thing about volunteering at LPCS is “the unique perspectives and lessons that I’ve learned from the Guests. I start every class with the same message: ‘I am going to learn more from all of you than you will from me’. Whether it is the Guest’s openness in discussing their past or their willingness to give me advice on my future, I am constantly thinking and learning.” Geoff is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and currently works as a Market Research Project Manager. He chose to volunteer at LPCS because he was interested in a place where he could volunteer long term. 

The classes Geoff teaches are extremely free-flowing and rely on participation from the Guests who are willing to be open and honest. His most memorable experience occurred during his first class. Geoff recalls asking a question to the class and shares: “There was total silence. At that point, I remember thinking, ‘I might be in over my head thinking that people will actually be open with me’. A few weeks later, I realized that a trusting and open dialogue was starting to develop. I owe a lot to the first few Guests who were willing to let me in and treat me as an insider – if it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t still be volunteering.”

Outside of his time spent at work and volunteering at LPCS, Geoff loves to watch football and baseball. Geoff says he is interested in expanding his educational focus to add another hard skill such as finance or accounting to his soft-skill degree that he has in Communications.

The staff and Guests chose Geoff to be the December Volunteer Spotlight because of the overwhelming amount of positive comments made during a Guest Survey regarding his class. Guests have noted that his class is always interesting and welcoming; he is greatly appreciated as a member of the LPCS team.  

Thanks for your dedication, Geoff!

Meet Mark and Joanie

 

Meet Mark and Joanie, recent Graduates of the Lincoln Park Community Shelter. Their story proves that the path to homelessness is complex – no one decision or circumstance led directly to their homelessness. However, a series of events over time resulted in an almost unavoidable outcome.

Mark lost his job of 12 years at the same time his elderly mother needed extra help. Joanie’s job as a home health worker was inconsistent, and her own health problems sometimes made it difficult to work. She longed to finish college for a more stable career. But there was no time to pursue more education and training. They were just trying to keep up. 

The roof in their apartment began to leak and it was no longer livable. They found themselves faced with impossible decisions – pitch in financially and physically to help his mother, or resort to nursing home care? Move to an unsafe neighborhood to save on rent, or move in with family in the suburbs but pay more to commute to work? Seek needed medical care and pay out of pocket, or ignore serious health problems and hope they will resolve themselves?

Transportation, healthcare, and housing costs continued to pile up until Mark and Joanie reached a breaking point and were faced with the most difficult decision – moving into a shelter.

After living separately in different shelters, and periods of time living together on the streets, they finally found LPCS.

Even though they both were working, they hadn’t been able to accumulate enough savings and stabilize enough to move into housing again. “At other shelters, people used to ask ‘if you have a job, why not an apartment?’ It is not that simple to move, you need enough money for deposit, rent, and security.”

They didn’t want to hurriedly move and then be susceptible again to circumstances outside their control, like a layoff or illness. During more than 18 months at LPCS, Mark and Joanie were able to address neglected health concerns, secure steady employment, save money, and eventually take the final step in rebuilding their lives by moving into their own apartment in September.

At LPCS we understand that just like the path to homelessness, the path out of homelessness is also complex. We are able to approach each individual situation with a unique set of resources and guidance that truly helps Guests remove barriers and rebuild their lives one step at a time. Many Guests are in Mark and Joanie’s situation – a quarter already have some steady income, but not enough to afford rent; nearly 70% have some college education; many have consistent work and housing histories; most need support on multiple fronts to help put their lives back together. Our programs work consistently to succeed in helping 70% of Guests move back into stable, permanent housing after their stay at LPCS.

Mark and Joanie’s success, that that of all our Guests, is due to your direct support. LPCS is completely privately funded and we rely on your continued support to keep helping Guests like Mark and Joanie – and hundreds of others each year – take the steps they need to leave homelessness behind. Please make your gift today.

Many thanks,

Erin Ryan, Executive Director

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