About Us
The story of Naperville CARES begins in 1998. Two years after Congress passed the Welfare Reform Act, community and church leaders of Naperville wanted to determine its effect on local residents. A community survey was commissioned and the results showed that there were many groups, both private and public, doing good work in the community but there was little coordination or cooperation between these groups. Naperville CARES incorporated in 1999 to provide resources to people within the Naperville community who need assistance to avoid homelessness and attain self-sufficiency. When resources from other agencies and organizations are not immediately available, CARES provides emergency financial assistance for rent, security deposits, utilities, child care and other essential needs. We also have a Car Program that takes donated cars and tries to make the necessary repairs to make the cars roadworthy in order to be given to residents who need transportation.
Naperville is generally considered a very affluent community; however, approximately 5,200 families in Naperville live at or below the federal poverty guidelines. One unexpected bill or medical expense can put these families at risk of losing their home. The current state of the economy with its high unemployment figures has only added to the number of families dealing with a financial crisis.
During FY11 CARES distributed $207,000 in emergency financial assistance. Through our strong networking relationships we were able to provide an additional $113,000 in assistance from area agencies and congregations. This emergency assistance provided 742 services for 646 households containing 1,822 Naperville residents, of which 47% were children. We repaired 28 cars which were donated to members of the community who needed transportation.