Genesis Garden is opening more units of emergency shelter in McDonough County AND pursuing permanent housing options. Our services are open to those in McDonough, Hancock, Henderson and Warren Counties in western Illinois.

Things to know if you are considering seeking assistance:

1. The best long-term outcomes happen when you don’t enter emergency shelter. If you have SAFE housing now, what would it take for you to stay there? We’ll talk with you about that, as well as if you have a place you could stay for 30 days in another location (family, friends, etc), what would it take for you to get to that family or friend?

2. Everyone should have a safe, stable place to live. Emergency shelter is a band-aid and is time-limited. The underlying cause of a lot of homelessness is that there is not enough permanent housing at the right price or in the right configuration to meet demand.

3. Genesis Garden focuses attention on SAFE, STABLE permanent outcomes for you. During your time in emergency shelter with Genesis Garden, you will focus on how you will gain a safe, permanent and stable place to live. This is your work, and we will support you in identifying and applying your strengths. We will also help you connect with available resources to overcome your housing barriers- whether those are income, employment, child care, any aspect of wellness, events in your past.

4. Couch-surfing and living doubled up is not the same as “homeless”. While we strive for good living situations for everyone, homeless, as used at Genesis Garden, means you are sleeping on the street, living in a vehicle or abandoned building. Experiencing domestic violence is not a safe or good living situation. Together, you and we will try to identify a third party to document your living situation.

5. While we are opening, we do already have a list of people dating back to July. When you call to be added to our list, please be upfront and honest about your situation and history. We know it can be hard to talk about but we are best able to support you, when we understand when you last had stable housing and what you see as causing that to change. We care about what’s happened to you, not what other people may think is “wrong” with you

To talk with us about your housing issues — emergency housing, eviction prevention, diversion, etc — call Genesis Garden at 309-326-3075. Please leave a message if we can’t answer the phone, and we will call or text you in response.