Robert's Story

“You’re home now, Robert.” That’s what the PADS case manager told his client as they looked around the bare apartment. “We’ll help you find furniture. We’ll help you get used to saving money and paying bills. We’ll help you get back on track. You can do this. I know you can.”

That was Christmas Eve. Twelve months later, Robert has graduated from the West Suburban PADS housing program and has taken over his lease. He is self-sufficient and sober, employed full-time, re-connecting with his family and making plans to go back to school.

When we met for lunch in the cafeteria at Robert’s workplace, he was beaming with calm and confidence, and a contagious smile. He talked about faith and hope. He told us about loss, loneliness and addiction.

“How did it happen? How did I become one of those people the kids call ‘hobos’? I didn’t see it coming. I had a good job, was a good dad, was doing just fine and then the year I turned 40…my mother died, my girlfriend left me, I started drinking more than I should…I was so tired. It was easy to say ‘Sure. I’ll try that.’ And it worked. I forgot my troubles -- and my job, my home, my daughter -- when I fell in love with crack cocaine.”

Robert was sleeping on the train and in the parks, sometimes in drug houses where dealers promised to take care of Robert and his habit. “My clothes were dirty. My shoes were falling apart. I was constantly moving, constantly walking because I had no place to rest, to go to the bathroom, to get warm, to get strong enough to fight this addiction.”

“You can’t imagine the humiliation of being homeless. Kids call you ugly names. Adults treat you like garbage, like litter. I was embarrassed to be seen by people I used to know. But they would just turn away, like I was invisible.”

Except for one person who met Robert on a park bench, looked him in the eye and said, “There is a place where you can sleep and be safe, where you can get a warm meal and a shower, and clean clothes.”

The PADS emergency shelter became Robert’s refuge for three months while he worked with case managers to regain his health, conquer his addiction, rebuild his self-esteem and find a job. “At the end of December, my case managers approached me and said, ‘You’re ready, Robert. You qualify for our supportive housing program. We have an apartment for you.’ I was on top of the world.

“They saw the man I used to be. They believed I could do this. And I did.”   

West Suburban PADS is making stable housing a reality for hundreds of people like Robert every year -- by alleviating their need for long-term shelter, moving them into sustainable permanent housing and improving their housing retention.