DuPage County is home to some of the wealthiest people in America. Its population has grown from 490,000 people in 1975 to more than 900,000 today. Yet 55,000 of its residents live in poverty, defined as a family of 4 living on $20,000 or less per year. The greatest increase in employment is in low-wage service sector jobs, and thousands of households are "working poor".

The PRC has grown from serving 125 families in its first year to thousands of families each year. Every month, 1700 families, representing 7,000 people, seek out our help. Half are immigrants, from 100 different countries. Half are children. A fourth are single parent households. More than half are working. In a year’s time, almost 20,000 DuPage residents rely on PRC for help.

The PRC is quite literally a lifeline for the refugee, or for those who find themselves in a difficult life situation. We’ve also served as the touchstone for our community’s response to welfare reform. More of our families today are working, but the percentage of monthly household income spent on rent is also increasing. People use our food market and clothes connection to save that $60 or $70 a month, so they can pay their rent and utilities.

We provide a “library” of resources to help people remain self-sufficient:

Under one roof, people find food, clothing, emergency rental assistance, and referral services. They can also access technology, training and educational opportunities that can help them transform their future.

Thanks to our volunteers and donors, we’ve been able to improve the quality and quantity of our services, and we’ve broadened the opportunities available to our client families, in order to bring them closer to the economic mainstream. Together with business, foundations, faith communities, service providers and government agencies, we’ve launched initiatives to create more hope and opportunity:

• Computer literacy training in 18 neighborhood sites and reconditioned computers for people in their homes;
• Adult and family literacy programs, English as a Second Language, GED and citizenship help in more than 20 neighborhood sites county wide;
• People’s Art, providing a nurturing, safe environment for people to come together in a spirit of creative expression;
• Job Assistance, offering referral and mentoring resources to clients who are actively seeking employment.

Clearly, the challenge is to remain responsive to the growing needs of our county’s residents while standing true to our mission and vision. As our community changes, the needs continue to increase. Transportation, affordable housing, access to healthcare, jobs that pay a living wage: these are the key issues as we respond to an increasingly diverse population overcoming language and cultural barriers.