Lazarus House

Our mission is to offer guests connected to our communities who are homeless or in need hope for the future by providing hospitality, food, safe shelter, and education – tools for life. We strive to make certain that all who enter feel the love of Jesus.

These support services are offered to men, women, and children connected to Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and western rural Kane County, Illinois. Lazarus House’s goals are to:

• Help the homeless return to independent living with the skills and habits needed for long-term success
• Offer services and referrals to help those in need in the community in order to prevent homelessness and support the well-being of individuals and their families.

Based on an individualized assessment of needs, each person seeking help at the shelter can obtain: 

1) Safe shelter, food, personal hygiene items and shower and laundry facilities, clothing through the local clothes closet, healthcare through a local free clinic and other local funding. 

2) Case management to help each person develop and implement a plan to address their issues and obtain access to needed community, state and federal programs and services.

3) Employment assistance/skills upgrade, including GED, college and trade schools, help with resumes and job search.

4) In-house classes that support successful living.  Topics include: getting a job, parenting, self-esteem, healthy relationships, anger management, and budgeting.

In addition, as people in the Emergency Shelter make progress on their goals, they can apply to live in the Center for Transitional Living (CTL). CTL residents can stay for up to two years, provided they consistently follow their case management plan. During this period they are provided strong case management to help them address the issues causing homelessness and to support them in returning to successful independent living in permanent housing. After leaving Lazarus House, six months of follow up case management is offered to ensure the guest’s continued success.

Lazarus House also provides short-term and ongoing rental assistance and supportive services to help qualifying persons avoid homelessness and also to the homeless once they are housed back in the community.  Funds for these programs are provided primarily through government grants. Those that have been able to be helped through these rental assistance programs, with access to a variety of support services at Lazarus House, have avoided a treacherous journey towards possible homelessness.

Lazarus House also serves as a de facto help line to link people in need of support services to other agencies and services in the area, such as food pantries, the free clinic, crisis support services, in-patient mental health or substance abuse treatment centers, etc.  Staff are proactive in reaching out and accepting speaking engagements to help educate and raise community awareness on subjects about who the homeless are (many are people who work but do not make a living wage) and their needs.