OAK PARK COMMUNITY
MIGRANT RESETTLEMENT MISSION
A MUTUAL AID EFFORT
A community-driven volunteer effort
seeking to connect asylum-seekers currently in Oak Park
to safe and secure long-term housing as part
of the next step on their journey

Ways to Lend a Helping Hand with Housing, Home Goods, Volunteering and Donations.

We are a short-term local mutual aid effort composed 100% of volunteers. Neighbors helping neighbors and connecting this group of local asylum seekers to the goodwill and generosity of the community and all those who are moved to support our efforts.

Volunteer Opportunities 

Looking to get more involved in your community in the new year? Consider volunteering to help people in the midst of homelessness. Here are some upcoming opportunities to get involved. 

• Emergency Warming Shelter: With frigid weather predicted this weekend, the emergency warming shelter at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (located at 611 Randolph St, Oak Park) will be activated. The Oak Park Homelessness Coalition is currently seeking volunteers to help at the shelter on evenings, nights, or weekends. To sign up for available time slots and for more information, please click here.

• Point in Time Count: Every year the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County coordinates the Point in Time (PIT) Count. The PIT Count is a census of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in suburban Cook County. During this single night, volunteers and staff canvass the streets and attempt to count every person staying outside. The count is crucial because it improves our ability to plan, fund, and implement a response for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in suburban Cook County. We're looking for 70 volunteers to help on January 31. To sign up and for more information, please click here.

• Meal Volunteers: We are looking for volunteers to provide a meal for 20 (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) for the Emergency Overnight Shelter, and/or 60 meals for Interim Housing. More information and sign up can be found here or by contacting Cherrell Jackson at cjackson@housingforward.org.

• House to Home Kits: Help is needed to provide individuals and families who are transitioning to new homes with the basic household necessities to make a house a home. This is a great team building opportunity, as volunteers are encouraged to prepare the home to be move in ready. See this flyer for more information, or, contact Cherrell Jackson at cjackson@housingforward.org.

Beyond Hunger's mission is harnessing the power of communities to end hunger.

Volunteers are critical to every aspect of our operation, providing over 2,000 hours of collective time every month.  Our volunteers have been rated #1 for the last 40 years (by us) for their determination, compassion, availability, and overall skill. A variety of volunteer shifts are available, during weekday, evening, and weekend hours. We offer shifts that run the gamut, including data entry, repacking, serving Pantry guests, and unloading delivery trucks.  We hope to provide a volunteer opportunity for everyone, at every ability level.

New Volunteer Form

Assisting Asylum Seekers

Currently, the Village of Oak Park is officially supporting 162 asylum seekers residing in the community, including 57 children under the age of 18. More than half of those individuals (89) are sheltering at The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park, while 55 are currently housed at the West Cook YMCA.

The Village has reached an agreement with the West Cook YMCA and The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park to provide shelter for migrants
until Feb. 29, according to a Dec. 29 memorandum from the Emergency Operations Center. 

We are asking those interested in volunteering to sign up for Oak Park's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT):

Click here to sign up for the
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) 

Volunteers are needed to assist with language translation and more. Volunteers with an interest in medical emergency response can apply to serve with the

Oak Park's Medical Reserve Corps - click here to sign up for MRC

For more information about volunteering, call 708.358.5700 Monday-Friday between 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

DONATIONS:

Officials are asking community members to pause the generous donations of goods that have been brought directly to sites that the Village is overseeing. Short-term plans are now in place to cover the needs of the asylum seekers until other accommodations can be organized.

If you want to help asylum seekers in Oak Park by donating your time or money, please give directly to the local organizations that are helping them.

• Housing Forward

• The West Cook YMCA