Fortitude finds ‘forever home’ in Court Street building

KANKAKEE – Drivers likely don’t notice the unassuming building tucked behind a corner store on East Court Street, which is one of the reasons it was thought to be perfect for Fortitude Community Outreach.

“The really unique thing about this building is that people don’t know it’s here,” Fortitude Executive Director Dawn Broers said.

Detailed signage will be placed once the 970 E. Court St. facility is open to the public, but for now, Broers finds she sometimes has to give detailed directions for people to find the building, which, she said, is a good thing.

“We’re not super visible from the main Court Street road,” she said. “As people come to the building, it’s not going to be throngs of people waiting outside in a big area, and there’s a bus stop directly across the street. There’s so much that makes this really the perfect location.”

Inside, the homeless services agency and its partners have been transforming the building, which in the past has been home to doctors’ offices, the Kankakee County Health Department and two different churches, to eventually encompass all of Fortitude’s operations.

Broers expects the interior work to complete the second phase of the three-phase project will be done by July.

The next step will be gaining a conditional-use permit from the Kankakee City Council to operate shelter services there.

“In my mind, our final hurdle is getting that permit, and then we’ll be raring to go after that,” Broers said.

The goal is to begin full operations at the facility by October or sooner.

Broers said that Fortitude has made “significant progress” with its relationship with the city of Kankakee.

“There’s a lot of agreement among city officials that this is a very needed service, and this is really a perfect location for it,” she said. “So, we’re hoping we have the aldermen on board when it comes time for a vote.”

Fortitude engages with about 55 active homeless individuals and houses an average of 10 individuals every month, Broers said.

Phase 2

In the space to be renovated in Phase 2 lies a salon, where Fortitude’s guests will be able to get their hair and nails done by volunteer stylists. It was made possible by a grant for women’s empowerment from the Zonta organization.

“Usually, when we go into our salon, there’s a sense of dignity in going in,” Broers said.

Set up near the salon are shelves of supplies for individuals moving into apartments, such as basic kitchen, bathroom and bedroom supplies and food.

“This way, they get to come in and kind of do a little shopping, choose what towels they want, choose what bedding they want,” she said. “It’s just another little notch of empowerment for them to make that choice.”

Storage rooms have been stocked with essentials such as boots, shoes and toiletries.

“This setup works really well for us to organize everything,” Broers said.

Nearby, in the great room, is where all services will be provided. Guests will be able to check in, relax in a television-viewing area, and get set up for the night to sleep in beds separated for men and women.

The shelter will fit nine bunk beds for 18 total beds to sleep in. There also will be an area for staff supervision.

Three bathrooms have been installed, including a full tub and shower, a half-bathroom, and a handicapped-accessible bathroom and shower stall.

Just around the corner will be a commercial kitchen for food service.

One of the kitchen’s requirements, a large exhaust hood, recently arrived. It was one of the more costly, but necessary, features.

“We’re close [to completion],” Broers said. “I think next is mudding and sanding [the drywall], but all the electrical and plumbing is complete. Then, we’ll work on painting and floors.”

She noted that AHF Flooring is donating tiled floors.

Phase 3

Another area of the building to be renovated in Phase 3 has been gutted and likely will require another two years to finish.

The beds eventually will be moved there, separated into men’s and women’s dorms and a staff supervision area, along with bathrooms.

It also will have an isolated room for guests who may be sick or have an infant with them, as well as a separate space for families.

“Here, we’ll be able to shelter a lot more people,” Broers said. “We can shelter up to 30 probably in this building.”

If Fortitude were able to hire two full-time staffers for the evening, it would be possible to shelter more than 30 individuals when all renovations are complete.

“It’s flexible; it can grow,” Broers said. “That’s exactly why we thought this could be our forever home – because it had that possibility to kind of add services or change services as we went.”

Future

“I’m super excited about the future,” Broers said. “We’ve never had all of our stuff and all of our services under one roof since we started. We’re very close.”

Fortitude’s goal is to have all of its services in the 970 E. Court St. building when resuming overnight shelter in the fall.

That will include closing the storage unit where beds and other items are now stored and moving them into the new building.

After gaining a conditional-use permit from the city, Fortitude then plans to sell its Night Fort emergency bus shelter to another organization in need.

Over the past three years, Fortitude has raised $700,000 in capital funds.

About $175,000 was spent on the Night Fort, and $230,000 was spent on the East Court Street building.

Broers estimates they’ll need to raise another $200,000 to complete the Phase 3 renovations.

Fundraising will be crucial, especially with proposed budget cuts from the state and federal government potentially affecting the upcoming fiscal year.

Fortunately, consolidating operations under one roof will save considerable costs, so Broers believes Fortitude will be in good shape.

She was clear – there’s no plan B.

“This is our forever home,” Broers said.