NIU College of Law Health Advocacy Blog

Our introduction to the clinic comprised an orientation to Hesed House by Ryan Dowd, Executive Director of Hesed House, and a walk-through of the Resource Center, including the space where the clinic for Aunt Martha’s Health Center and our legal clinic will be housed. Ryan began the orientation with an introduction to the issue of homelessness, which was eye-opening for me.  I was surprised to learn that only 8% of the homeless population is chronically homeless and essentially unemployable.  My image of a homeless person is that of an unwashed, poorly-dressed person walking around urban streets, pushing a shopping cart, picking through garbage cans and dumpsters, and mumbling to himself.  While I recognize this as a stereotype, I have not equipped myself with any tools to change my perceptions, perhaps because the problem of homelessness does not animate me in the way that other issues move me.  I saw homelessness as a problem that exists within our system of institutionalized inequal...

I was nervous, but it is a nervous feeling that I have felt before. A feeling of excitement because I am about to embark upon another journey with the purpose to create change. Although I have had a lot of interaction with people in poverty, every new interaction is a learning experience. I was impressed by how vast the Hesed House facilities were; it was the biggest homeless shelter I have seen. It pushed me toward both a feeling of gratitude and sorrow. I felt grateful that facilities like Hesed House exist so that people in poverty have the ability to have a roof over their head and access to food. On the other hand, I felt sorrow because it breaks my heart that poverty has such a strong hold on so many individuals in our society. It is an uneasy feeling for me that Hesed House is the only shelter in Aurora when there is an overwhelming need in the area. However, I am glad that it can accommodate as many people as it can and that it touches the lives of so many in more ways than jus...

I left the first meeting of our little group excited, inspired, and pleasantly terrified. A long-time resident and self-proclaimed advocate of Aurora, I am ashamed that this was my first visit to Hesed House. I had read about it, thought about it, and heard its praises sung countless times, but all of my ‘good’ excuses kept me from lending a hand or ever checking it out for myself. I wish I had, because I would have known sooner that Hesed House far exceeds its glowing reputation. As Mr. Dowd showed us around Hesed House and its Community Resource Center, I became more and more excited to be associated with this shelter. I was impressed by its leaders’ tireless efforts to serve the homeless population by pooling the efforts of multiple organizations, faiths, and disciplines. They do not limit themselves to supplying shelter and food, but helped to establish homeless children’s rights to attend school and set their guests up for success by providing access to job training, counseling, a...