Before heading off to Mass Sept. 9 at St. Petronille Parish in Glen Ellyn, three members of the Repking family took a 5 kilometer run and helped the homeless in DuPage County. Standing alongside her 6-year-old and 9-year-old sons, Liz Repking said, “It’s all about the family.”
Most people think of bicycles as toys or exercise tools, but Glenbard West High School senior James Volin sees them as a means of opportunity and hope for those in need.
On benches within the wide expanse of community parks, under bridges, in forest preserves, desolate back alleys or abandoned vehicles, the homeless seek an isolated spot where they can close their eyes and dream of a life that refuses to define every moment as a crisis or each meal as a victory over starvation.
Although the weather may be warmer, the problem of providing interim shelters for homeless people living in
DuPage County doesn’t get any easier.
DuPage PADS has offered the homeless a place to sleep at night through dozens of temporary shelters at area churches for more than 20 years.
On a late December afternoon, Dr. Hamid Hessein sits at a folding table, papers and assorted medical paraphernalia strewn before him.