After nearly a year of debate, a plan to open a homeless shelter in Park Ridge suffered a major setback this week when the not-for-profit agency that would have run the program withdrew.
“With all the scrutiny they’ve been put through, I think they came to the point where they got fed up and left,” said Mayor Howard Frimark.
Journeys from PADS to Hope, based in Palatine, would have administered the program, which was sponsored by the Park Ridge Ministerial Association, a group of 20 local churches and social service agencies.
The plan was to provide temporary shelter one night a week from October to April to address what members of the association say is a growing homeless problem in the area.
Plans to locate the shelter in two Park Ridge churches were met with opposition through Web sites, petitions and marathon public comment sessions at City Council meetings. A proposed shelter in St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was abandoned in June after neighbors expressed concerns.
