PORTAGE PARK — The vacant convent at St. Pascal's Church in Portage Park is set to be transformed into a home for new mothers struggling to get on their feet — but some parishioners are concerned that it will threaten the church and school.
Aid For Women, a Catholic social services organization that encourages women not to have abortions, wants to turn the convent at St. Pascal's into a transitional home for as many as six women who are working or going to school full time in an effort to find a permanent home and long-term employment while caring for their babies.
Heather Cherone explains why some people are concerned about the potential home:
The plan — which was criticized by some residents at a packed community meeting this week — has the support of 38th Ward Ald. Tim Cullerton and St. Pascal's pastor, the Rev. Paul Seaman, who said the concerns are overblown and motivated by fear.
"Six women and their little babies are not going to pose a problem," Seaman said. "We are under a Gospel imperative to help the needy."
Cullerton said he supported the proposal both as the area's alderman and as a practicing Catholic.
"At first I was skeptical," said Cullerton, who plans to retire at the end of his term in May. "But this is not a homeless shelter or a clinic."
Opponents of the proposal — which requires a special-use permit from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals — said the convent is too close to children attending school at St. Pascal's, and could threaten the students' ability to have recess outside. It is also across the street from a day care facility and the Austin Irving Branch of the Chicago Public Library.
City zoning officials typically issue permits to projects that have the support of the local alderman.
Aid For Women Executive Director Susan Barrett said the women would be carefully screened before being allowed to move into the former convent at St. Pascal. No one with a criminal record, a history of substance abuse or "unhealthy" relationships would be allowed in the facility, she said.
"We really see a need for this program," Barrett said, adding that St. Pascal's proximity to public transportation and stores would help these women become financially independent.
Only "A-plus students" who have lived for an extended period at Heather's House, the group's 3-year-old Des Plaines residential facility, and followed all the rules before completing the program there would be eligible to come to the facility at St. Pascal's, 3935 N. Melvina Ave., Barrett said.
"These women are like family to us," Barrett said. "There isn't much we don't know about them after living with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If they aren't working really, really hard, this isn't the program for them."
The women must either be working full time, attending school full time or some combination, Barrett said. They must also demonstrate progress toward independence, she added.
None of the fathers of the babies at the Des Plaines facility have ever come looking for them or their mothers, Barrett said.
"We would hope people with concerns would work with us to see they are unfounded," Barrett said. "These are sweet, beautiful women who want to be independent."
Cullerton said the concerns he heard from opponents at the community meeting were overblown and not legitimate.
"You can never have absolute assurance that nothing bad will happen," Cullerton said, noting that the lease would allow the church to terminate the agreement if trouble arises. "But these women should be supported for choosing to have their babies."
Cullerton, whose oldest daughter became a single mother shortly after graduating from high school, said not every family has the means and ability to help a young woman care for a newborn like his did.
The convent at St. Pascal's has been "in limbo" since the Franciscan Sisters of Joliet left more than 30 years ago, Seaman said.
Some church groups, such as the Boy Scouts and seniors that use the convent for meetings have agreed to relocate elsewhere on the church's grounds.
"It has a lot of rooms that have no other use," Seaman said, adding that some are so small no more than three people can fit in a room.
Seaman said he has been working to find a new use for the convent for eight years, and he began working with Aid For Women three years ago after the group approached the church.
"St. Pascal's is a very good fit for us," Barrett said. "It is a very safe area."
The proposal is expected to be considered by the zoning board in October and November, and if approved, Aid For Women will start working to renovate the convent as soon as possible.
"We will leave it better than we found it," Barrett said. "We are going to take really good care of the convent."
Opening the transitional home at St. Pascal's would free up more space at Heather's House and allow more women to be helped, Barrett said.
"This is a good thing," Seaman said.
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