Now that the weather is getting cold, DeKalb must face a problem which was once confined to the big cities—homelessness.

The PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) organization, has accepted the challenge of caring for the homeless of the DeKalb area and is now entering its fourth season.

“PADS helps bring the community together while uplifting the spirits of both the volunteers and the homeless people seeking help,” said Gayla Warford, a member of the PADS steering committee.

PADS operates out of a house at 311 N. Fourth St. and provides emergency shelter from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to anyone who comes to the door, but only between October and May. PADS hopes to expand this service to year round, Warford said.

The capacity of the shelter is 16 people, but the average number of guests per night is 23. “We never turn people away and if we have to, we will put people up in a hotel for the night,” explains Warford. “Each year we get more and more families and we have never had so many children in past years.”

Since the beginning, 7,777 nutritious meals have been provided for the guests. Everyone receives a hot dinner and breakfast and a bag lunch to go, Warford said.

During the summer, when the shelter is closed, a hot meal is served at a weekly community dinner at the Newman Center, 512 Normal Road, on Sunday nights. The meal is served from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., usually by the people who have prepared the food, along with Kathy Clark, the coordinator of the program and a member of the PADS steering committee.

What’s more, said Clark, these weekly dinners “give us a chance to keep in touch with the people we wouldn’t regularly see while the shelter is closed.” The dinners also act as a social experience where people can interact with others and share stories, Clark explains.

PADS receives little financial assistance from the government and must rely on help from the community. The churches of DeKalb and Sycamore provide the main support for the shelter along with several NIU groups, such as Delta Sigma Beta, Alpha Si Lambda, Pi Sigma Epsilon and the Newman group. Support includes financial assistance, donations of clothes and food and voluntary staff help.

An instructional session will be held Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the shelter to provide training for anyone wanting to volunteer.