The Daily Northwestern - Winter shelters scarce in city

The Daily Northwestern - Winter shelters scarce in city: "Hilda's Place, like many suburban shelters, is inundated in the winter months due to the migration of homeless people from the larger Chicago shelters.

The number of people trying to get into Hilda's Place increases by 20 percent from the summer months, said Dean Miller, the shelter's coordinator and case manager.

'In the winter months, people in the city feel they will be safer and will find a spot if they move into the suburbs,' Miller said.

Hilda's Place, 1458 Chicago Ave., is Evanston's only year-round shelter for the homeless. Last year, the shelter provided 12,166 nights of shelter to 228 homeless people, according to Connections for the Homeless, a social service agency that runs the shelter.

'Unfortunately, we're one of the few shelters,' he said. 'We're almost always full and people always wanted to get in.'

Some homeless people are refused a bed due to space limitations. Bell said he typically goes to a bookstore or the library until closing time. Then, while Hughes is in the shelter, he sleeps at an outdoor 'camp.'

'The other day, my sleeping bag completely froze over,' Bell said.

Connections for the Homeless provides transitional shelter and support for homeless families through its Family Housing Services. It runs EntryPoint, a street outreach program that links the homeless with shelters and services. Other organizations provide job search assistance to the homeless.

The Hospitality Center, located in St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 1509 Ridge Ave., provides career counselors and use of a phone and fax machine. Open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. each morning, the center also provides hygiene products.

The center is part of the Evanston Ecumenical Action Council, an organization that focuses on the hungry and the homeless. Fifty-two Evanston churches associated with the council run soup kitchens each night of the week on different days. The churches also provide warming centers from November through March, which serve an average of 40 people a day, according to Susan Murphy, the council's administrative director."