An MCHS student has recently been evicted from their house. With nowhere else to turn, the student has to stay with a friend. The student walks home to their friend’s house, embarrassed to ask the school for transportation help. Exhausted from their day, they lay on the end of the couch they now call home.

According to Blanchethouse, homelessness is a nationwide issue that lives in just about every community within the United States. Homelessness is when a person is without a permanent or safe place to call home. Within recent years, the homeless population has grown to upwards of 650,000 individuals.

“A record-high 653,104 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2023. This is more than a 12.1% increase over the previous year,” says the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Towns across the nation are becoming affected by these issues and McHenry County is no exception. According to Homeless Shelter Directory’s 2019 study, over 155 people in McHenry County are experiencing homelessness. This included families, youth, veterans and more.

80% of the homeless population within McHenry County are currently working, but they are still having trouble affording a house due to unaffordable rent prices, according to Home of the Sparrow. 58% of these people are also single parents who can not afford childcare.

Homelessness is not the stereotype that it used to be. It doesn’t always mean living on the streets in a tent. It can be living with friends, couch surfing and more. While times may seem dark for those experiencing hardships, the McHenry County community has several organizations working hard to help.

The Salvation Army is a nationwide organization that provides services to those in need. This can be through providing food, clothes, shelter, appliances, and money to help with bills, medication and other necessities. The Salvation Army has helped hundreds of people in need.

“The Salvation Army keeps me from being in the dark, from being cold,” an anonymous homeless person told The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army is not the only organization that works to help our community. Warp Corp is an organization that started in 2018 and has grown to help aid the homelessness population.

“Throughout Covid,” Warp Corps outreach supervisor Andrew Turner says, “McHenry County reached out to us, asking if we would be able to also assist with the unhoused population, providing a variety of street outreach services.”

Warp Corps works to help the community in small ways and encourages those who are going through hard times.

“Warp Corps has many ways that we serve those struggling with homelessness. This is primarily done through our depot location located in the Woodstock Metra Station,” Turner says. “The depot is set up similar to a thrift store, with clothing, shoes, hygiene and baby products, camping gear, and even a small food pantry. Our favorite part about The Depot is that everything is free.”

Home of the Sparrow is another organization in McHenry County that helps homeless people and families create a better life. While the Salvation Army helps those in immediate need, Home of the Sparrow focuses on the next steps for these individuals and families.

“We are that second step,” says Lindsay Kellner, Home of the Sparrow’s director of programs. “Most Emergency Shelters’ stays are 30 to 60 days. We are a longer stay we’re up to 9 months, and we provide intensive case management while they’re there.”

Home of the Sparrow helps those in need and works to help them get on track for their next steps in life. This year, they have helped over 480 families along with 2200 people helped through information, resources and more.

“A lot of the focus is finding housing and gaining employment,” Kellner states. “We help with security deposit and ongoing rental assistance.”

Home of the sparrow also helps to fight the stigma that lingers around the homeless community. They also have thrift stores where the community can donate and families in need can shop for free. This is a similar program to the Salvation Army stores as well.

“I think our population unfortunately has a lot of stereotypes against [homeless people] and working with them is a way for us to Advocate and show the public that all of these negative stereotypes are not true,” Kellner says. “These are people that are working really hard, they’re trying their best and not everyone has the same life circumstances.”

“A lot of what we do here is to try to empower those who have been unfortunately pushed into different circumstances, through things beyond their control,” says Grants Manager Kristen Miller.

These issues facing the community can often hit closer to home than one might realize. Your co-worker who comes in late everyday could be couch surfing for the past few months. The person sitting next to you in class could be experiencing homelessness. MCHS has experienced handling and helping homeless students.

“One of the things that we will do is try to find out Where they are currently living and then do they need access to things like transportation,” Health and wellness coordinator Maura Reid says. “Do they need school supplies, food, things like that and other sort of community services that we can connect them to?”

MCHS currently has 41 students experiencing some form of homelessness. This number is lower than the past few years, with numbers once reaching 49 and 51 students.

While this community is struggling, these communities are working endlessly to help those in need and provide them with a better life.

“For me it’s about making a difference in my community,” director of development Holly Dorn says. “I think it’s difficult to watch people struggle for the basic needs, and to me everyone should have a safe place to call home and a roof overhead.”

“I think passion is the key to why we do this,” Elizabeth Heneks, president of program services says. “It’s hard work, but we do have a very committed staff that really work hard and go beyond to try to help with their clients.” 

Even when times look dark and rough, these organizations prove that there’s always someone at the end of the tunnel with a light. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing financial or homeless issues, contact these organizations for aid.