McHENRY – Home of the Sparrow will add five dorm rooms as well as an additional kitchen and laundry facilities to its McHenry shelter.
A groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning will kickoff the official start of construction on the project, which will shelter up to 47 more homeless women and children.
The contractor, Orbis Construction, expects the project to be completed sometime in December, said Debbie DeGraw, the nonprofit’s vice president of marketing, public relations and development.
The event will start at 9 a.m. Monday at the shelter, 2116 Ringwood Road, McHenry, and will include remarks from the nonprofit’s executive director, John Jones; McHenry Mayor Sue Low; County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill, the project’s developer; and McHenry County Director of Planning and Development Dennis Sandquist.
“[The expansion] will provide shelter and supportive services to provide women and their children the support system they need to maintain self-sufficiency and to live more stable and productive lives,” Jones said in a news release. “Through the array of services we offer, we will be able to increase the number of women and children we serve and expect to decrease the wait time in entering our shelter.”
Home of the Sparrow hopes the expansion will reduce the wait time to 30 days, DeGraw said. A new outreach and prevention coordinator works with people while they are on the list.
The expansion as well as the new position is being funded using a community development block grant and donations, in particular from Peggy Klingenberg whose donations also led to 19 new units of affordable housing and led to the implementation of a Rapid Re-housing program.
Home of the Sparrow currently operates two transitional shelters, 19 affordable housing units, three transitional apartments, six Sparrow’s Nest thrift stores and donation centers.
“There is a significant need for affordable housing for low income individuals of which our women are a statistic,” DeGraw said. “We expect to serve 325 individuals this year, as a result of our expanded services.”
For information, visit Home of the Sparrow's website at www.HOSparrow.org or call 815-271-5444.