BEDS Plus Care Newsletter: Aug. 26, 2021

Eviction Moratorium Extended

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker extended a statewide ban on residential evictions through Sept. 18. The extension was included in the governor's COVID-19 Executive Orders, which were signed on Aug. 20.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health order bans all evictions nationwide through October. However, that ban only applies to areas with high COVID-19 transmission rates. The extended statewide moratorium in Illinois applies to all counties, including in areas reporting low transmission rates.

Courts are expected to continue to allow eviction filings, however, will not allow actual evictions for protected tenants who have filed the necessary paperwork.

BEDS Gardens Featured on Native Garden Bike Tour

Our Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing facility was recently featured during the Native Garden Bike Tour. The OASH facility offers transitional housing for clients and has a variety of gardens including butterfly, rain and prairie gardens with a wide array of native plants as well as a green rooftop.

The Native Garden Bike Tour was organized by the Village of La Grange Environmental Quality Commission and the La Grange Park Sustainability Commission. Eight locations in La Grange and La Grange Park were featured on the tour.

A special thank you to Rose Naseef, chair of the LaGrange Green Committee, for organizing the event and featuring BEDS!

In Case You Missed It on Facebook

BEDS Bulletin! The National Alliance to End Homelessness recently released the State of Homelessness: 2021 Edition. This year's report provides national-, state-, and community-level data, analysis, and insights on homelessness and homeless system performance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 580,466 people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. in January 2020. Most were individuals (70%), while the rest were people living in families with children. Nationwide homelessness increased by 2% between 2019 and 2020, marking the fourth consecutive year of incremental population growth. The report does not reflect shifts in homelessness that might have occurred due to steps taken to address COVID or elevated unemployment rates tied to the pandemic or recession.

For Ricky Maltese, the most rewarding part of his job as a case aide at BEDS Plus Care is helping clients through the process of finding housing and seeing how grateful they are when they find a place to call home. Ricky joined the BEDS staff in June and works with the justice involved housing program. The program helps those who have been formerly incarcerated find and secure housing, while providing other case management and support services at the same time. Click here to read more about Ricky and the JAC program.

Want to join the team at BEDS? We are currently looking to immediately fill two Americorps Case Aide positions, which can later lead to a full-time position at BEDS. Americorps positions are temporary 12-month, full-time assignments funded by BEDS in partnership with Americorps. The housing case aide assists in the management of housing activities and assists the program's case management staff. We are also looking for a Food Rescue Assistant/Case Aide Assistant to work with our Food Rescue team. Interested candidates should send resume with cover letter to Community Engagement Coordinator Erin Molek at molek@beds-plus.org.

Calling all volunteers! We are in need of volunteers to help with meal delivery to clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers will meet at our Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing facility at 9601 E. Ogden Avenue in La Grange. Meals for delivery should be picked up between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Sue Dever at dever@beds-plus.org.