Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Patrice Kunesh recently visited Lily PADS Resale Boutique in Peru, IL, a community-supported funding vehicle for two Illinois Valley “Public Action to Deliver Shelter” (PADS) homeless shelters. Rural Development’s 2009 partnership with Hometown National Bank secured a loan guarantee, which PADS used to construct a new retail facility that enabled the organization to warehouse and sell goods from one location. The store has been so successful that Lily PADS recently expanded its storerooms and retail space again.
"This project exemplifies the significance of USDA funding to essential community facilities such as Lily PADS," Kunesh said. "Because of the USDA Community Facility Guarantee, the owner's dream to serve the community became a reality; and because of the owner's perseverance, the resale boutique became successful." So successful in fact that the bank was able to relinquish the guarantee earlier this year. "This is exactly the kind of project USDA Rural Development envisioned - community based and financed, playing a vital role in this rural community, and giving back in multiple ways!"
The Illinois Valley PADS homeless shelter in Peru has 24 beds and Ottawa has 30 beds, and services provided include meals, case management, and Life Skill classes. In addition to LaSalle, PADS serves more than 50,000 people in four Illinois counties: Marshall, Bureau, Grundy and Putnam, with shelters located in Ottawa and Peru. The organization estimates it has served more than 150,000 meals to area citizens since its inception in 1991.
For more information on the Community Facility Guaranteed Loan program, please visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/HAD-CF_Guaranteed_Loans.html.
