Please help us feed our homeless!
Tax deductible
The Turning Point Drop-In Center – Day Shelter for Men at the Polish American Association (PAA) was established more than 30 years ago as a support system for Polish- and other Eastern-European born immigrants who have not successfully assimilated into the American culture. It filled a considerable service gap in addressing homelessness and marginalization in the community. For years, our Program empowered our clients to move from the streets into stable housing by providing access to a comprehensive array of culturally sensitive supportive services, such as ESL classes, adult education classes, addiction treatment, and employment & housing assistance.
On December 22nd, 2021, the Department of Family Support and Services at the City of Chicago informed the PAA that the City was not going to fund the Day Shelter for Men at the PAA in 2022. Since most of the Program’s costs were covered by a grant from the City, with heavy hearts we had to make an extremely difficult decision to shut down all the operations of the Day Shelter.
Needless to say, the decision came as a shock to our community. Our homeless clients are the most vulnerable members of our community as they are Limited-English Proficient individuals and often undocumented. In addition to homelessness and marginalization, they often suffer from debilitating illnesses and addiction. The City’s decision not to fund our Program deprived them of that structure, support, community, and the only place where they were treated with care and respect.
The PAA is currently organizing A WARMING CENTER for our former clients to provide them with a hot meal daily and help them through the frigid winter months. One hot lunch at a Polish Deli costs $5.00. We had 12 clients in the shelter before we had to shut it down. For as little as $60.00 dollars we can buy hot lunches for a day for all of our men, and for $300 dollars we can provide them with hot lunches for a whole week. Please help us with this effort by clicking on the DONATE button on our website or mail a check to The Polish American Association, 3834 N Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60641. For more information, please call our main number.
On December 22nd, 2021, the Department of Family Support and Services at the City of Chicago informed the PAA that the City was not going to fund the Day Shelter for Men at the PAA in 2022. Since most of the Program’s costs were covered by a grant from the City, with heavy hearts we had to make an extremely difficult decision to shut down all the operations of the Day Shelter.
Needless to say, the decision came as a shock to our community. Our homeless clients are the most vulnerable members of our community as they are Limited-English Proficient individuals and often undocumented. In addition to homelessness and marginalization, they often suffer from debilitating illnesses and addiction. The City’s decision not to fund our Program deprived them of that structure, support, community, and the only place where they were treated with care and respect.
The PAA is currently organizing A WARMING CENTER for our former clients to provide them with a hot meal daily and help them through the frigid winter months. One hot lunch at a Polish Deli costs $5.00. We had 12 clients in the shelter before we had to shut it down. For as little as $60.00 dollars we can buy hot lunches for a day for all of our men, and for $300 dollars we can provide them with hot lunches for a whole week. Please help us with this effort by clicking on the DONATE button on our website or mail a check to The Polish American Association, 3834 N Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60641. For more information, please call our main number.
Fundraising team (3)
Kinga Kosmala
Organiser
Chicago, IL
Polish American Association
Beneficiary
Adam Kusz
Team member
Patricia Carter
Team member