JOURNEYS is dedicated to assisting all people in our service area experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. This means that sometimes we work with children and their families who are facing hardship, instability, and housing insecurity. 

All too often, homelessness and discrimination go hand-in-hand. One of the unique problems that unhoused or at-risk youths face is the sudden instability not only of shelter and basic needs, but also of their education. When youths and/or their families become unhoused, they often seek refuge outside their immediate community. This movement can exacerbate transportation issues or become at odds with a school district’s residential boundaries. Students may even lack the necessary documentation to become registered at a school due to unstable housing or frequent moves.

Luckily, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act helps to ensure that students can maintain access to their education regardless of their housing status. Passed in 1987, the Act is federal, bipartisan legislation that helped to crystallize homelessness as a "national problem requiring a national response" (National Coalition for the Homeless). 

One of the major affordances of the Act is that it allows students to attend their school of origin—the school they attended before they began experiencing homelessness—regardless of their current residence in that district. This measure is important because access to a familiar learning environment has benefits on a student’s social-emotional learning. Furthermore, the Act requires that schools provide transportation to all students—regardless of their residence in the school district they are attending—to make attendance possible, a significant measure since many unhoused and at-risk families lack reliable transportation.

JOURNEYS operates the School Advocacy Program in compliance with the McKinney-Vento  Act to ensure that each unhoused and at-risk youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as their housed peers. JOURNEYS serves 29 local school districts.

The first goal of JOURNEYS’ School Assistance Program focuses on enrollment and attendance. It is critical to ensure that children experiencing housing insecurities do not fall behind academically. The first step to ensure their success is enrolling them in school. Through the School Advocacy Program we are able to waive school fees, secure transportation, and remove red tape to get each child learning as soon as possible.

The second goal is to maintain continuity for students. Due to financial hardships, families that are housing unstable may have to stay outside of the school district’s geographic area temporarily. The School Advocacy Program ensures district residency restrictions are lifted so that each child can stay in a familiar learning environment, avoiding the trauma of bouncing from school to school.

The third goal is maintaining open communication between the school and family. School officials and teachers are often unaware of the hardships that a student may be facing both inside and outside of school when a family is housing insecure. Challenges can often manifest as poor academic performance, social exclusion, chronic absenteeism, and behavioral troubles. Case managers work with the school to make sure that issues are addressed and resolved quickly.

The JOURNEYS community works to support children and keep them in school. We believe that every child is deserving of the same opportunities and resources regardless of circumstances beyond their control.

To get involved or donate to JOURNEYS' mission, visit our website: journeystheroadhome.org.

Written by Roxanne Gentry, Marketing Associate & Amanda Stocchetti, Grant Associate

I had the chance to sit down with Sue, one of our volunteers who works both at the front desk of the HOPE Center and with our PADS Program. In addition to her work with JOURNEYS, she also volunteers with several other organizations, including a dog rescue, a meal delivery service in Wheeling Township, an organization that prepares and sends care packages to veterans, and Feed Our Starving Children. 

We're so lucky to have Sue, whose charm, compassion, and sense of humor makes clients feel welcome and puts them at ease. Take a look at what she had to say!




​"I was born in England and we moved to America when I was five. I went to Palatine High School, then I got my first house in Rolling Meadows where I had my kids. I have three sons. I worked for IDOT for 43 years and I retired in February of 2021. I started here in March, so I was retired for only one day before I started here! 

JOURNEYS is definitely one of my favorite places to be. I love the clients, and I love getting to know them. The people here are so wonderful.  Everybody at JOURNEYS is very kind and so appreciative, including the clients. It’s just such a pleasant place. 

At the HOPE Center, I started in the clothing closet because I'm very shy. I know nobody believes me, but I am! It was fun to pick out outfits and items of clothing. But then I got kind of lonely because everybody was so nice, and I was by myself in the closet! Eventually I volunteered to work up at the front desk, because I realized that it would be so much more me, since I stopped being so shy around everyone, and there’s so much more interaction with clients. 

I’ve also worked with JOURNEYS’ PADS Program. I'm new to PADS, but I enjoy the heck out of it. There’s one client I know well from working at the front desk of the HOPE Center. It was my first day working with PADS, and it was just the two of us standing there together, which felt sort of weird! But then she said, 'Well, but we're here, together.'  I think it helped her that I was there, and it helped me that I knew she was a client that I knew well.  

One night at PADS, I brought cards. Two clients and I were sitting building card houses because nobody could remember the rules to any games. They were telling me about their pasts before they began experiencing homelessness. It was so interesting to hear their life stories.  

Eventually it was bedtime. There was a family, three men: two brothers and their nephew. I said that I was going to turn off the lights, so it’s time to get ready for bed. But all one of the men did was take off his socks and put on hospital socks and then said, 'I'm ready now. I’m gonna have a good night’s sleep tonight.' And I hoped he would." 

-Arranged by Roxanne Gentry, Marketing Associate​

Continuing to meet more people within the JOURNEYS community, I had the chance to talk with one of our Board Members, Lori. Lori talked about her history in the area, her work with JOURNEYS, and how her day job helps provide a unique perspective and approach to helping those in need in her community.

Take a look at what she had to say!


"I grew up in Buffalo Grove, and my husband and I were fortunate enough to be able to raise our three kids in this community and send our kids to the same high school we both attended.

We started working with PADS out of our church when our kids were in high school, and we did that as a family for about 10 years. It's really been an important part of our family to work within our community and do what we can to help members in our community that are facing homelessness or dealing with homelessness directly. 

I'm an attorney by trade, and while my daily work isn’t really related to non-profit work, it does allow me to think analytically and critically about problem-solving and risk mitigation. I can use some of those day-job skills to have more systemic impact in my community than just volunteering.  

In 2020 I was fortunate enough to participate in the United Way Board Leadership Institute. It was a great training program for people who want to serve on non-profit boards. Through that program I was connected with JOURNEYS. I don't know that I really, fully understood the breadth of JOURNEYS’ profile in the community before that since I was previously only working with PADS program.  

Beth, JOURNEYS’ Executive Director, is such a dynamic leader and very much engaged in this community, has lived in this community forever like me. I really loved her leadership style, and I was thrilled to be able to use my opportunity to serve on JOURNEYS’ board to better support the homeless community and expand services, especially during COVID. 

JOURNEYS has had programs that we've had in place for years that we've totally had to pivot from because of the pandemic, and I think that the staff has done an amazing job. The board has really just tried to support them along the way. So what we are trying to do - and I think the new building is evidence of this - is to evolve with the needs of the community. 

JOURNEYS has done an excellent job of trying to partner with existing community organizations that are already supporting this population in different areas, connecting them with mental health services, job services, and housing services. The care teams that are interfacing with people one-on-one have also had to get creative. For example, there have been clients for whom the best thing is to get them connected with a family member, and their family might be out in California or somewhere across the country. A train ticket could be a resource to this individual to get them back on the right track. It’s important to think creatively about what the community needs are, and how we can pivot our programs to meet the needs that exist today. 

As a community, I think we do a really good job of providing opportunities for supporting JOURNEYS in a number of different ways. Some people are involved day-to-day either working at the [HOPE] Center and working directly with clients, while others are delivering food, or doing some once-a-week or once-a-month support.  ​

Our events are another fun way to support JOURNEYS. I was just at the self-defense class, and I took my two nieces who are both in college. Everyone had a really good time, and it was very rewarding to be involved. We have lots of other events, like the Casino Night and the Bid for HOPE Gala that's coming up in the fall, and even a golf outing. There are lots ways for the community to make a connection and it's really rewarding to be one-on-one with people that are in your community and making an impact where you live."

-Arranged by Roxanne Gentry, Marketing Associate

I had the opportunity to sit down with our outgoing Young Professionals Board President, Stephanie Van Kampen. We talked about her time at JOURNEYS and her plans after moving back to her home state of Wisconsin. We've been so lucky to have Stephanie as part of our JOURNEYS community, and wish her the best of luck on her future endeavors. Thank you, Stephanie!

Take a look at what she had to say!


​"I’m originally from Wisconsin, about an hour north. After graduation, I got a job in Chicago. I was completely new to the northwest suburbs, but I was looking for some sort of volunteering experience. I had done a lot of volunteering in the past in high school and college, and I knew I wanted to find a good cause in the community, so after a little Googling, I found JOURNEYS. They seemed like they were a really great organization, helping a lot of people in need, and it sounded like something I wanted to be a part of.  

After going through JOURNEYS’ volunteer orientation, I was planning to be a PADS volunteer, but I found out that a Young Professionals Board existed, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to help out in addition to volunteering with PADS.  

​I really loved volunteering with PADS. I loved being out at the shelters, serving meals, and cleaning up. All of the people who helped to run those sites were very, very caring. Some people I met had been doing it for twenty or thirty years. Their dedication was astounding, and it was a great experience.  

Seeing the community come out to support JOURNEYS was amazing. I would be handing out flyers at the local Jewel-Osco, and so many people would come by. They'd give us donations without us even asking for them. So many people would come up to us with some sort of connection to JOURNEYS. They would say, “I volunteered at a PADS shelter.” Someone even said their father had founded one of the PADS sites. So many thanked JOURNEYS for the great work they did. It’s amazing to see the impact they have on the community.  

As the outgoing Young Professionals Board President, it’s been great to see the passion of our members. There have been so many times when something starts off as a small idea, like our virtual beer-tasting fundraiser, and there was so much enthusiasm behind it. It was so organized, well planned, and the team just really tackled it and did a great job. It’s been wonderful working with a group of people that has so much passion for helping at JOURNEYS. I would love to see YPB grow into a larger organization. The more the merrier. 

I’ll continue to serve as past YPB president for the next year. I’ll be doing that in a virtual capacity since I’ll be a couple hours away. I have full confidence that the new [YPB] board will keep going strong. They’re incredibly hard workers and very passionate.  
​
The homeless population definitely holds a special place in my heart, so after I move, I would not be surprised if I get involved with another local organization that provides services similar to JOURNEYS'."

-Transcribed and arranged by Roxanne Gentry, Marketing Associate​