West Suburban PADS Undergoes Brand Transformation

As part of an effort to better convey its comprehensive solution to homelessness, West Suburban PADS is rebranding itself as Housing Forward.

The new name was announced April 29, and the agency hosted an open house May 1at its headquarters in Maywood.

“We learned quite a bit about our agency during the process of creating a new name and logo over the past 12 months,” said executive director Lynda Schueler in a statement. “Volunteers, donors, partners, advisors, friends old and new encouraged us to hold onto the ‘PADS’ name for our emergency shelter program while adopting an overall identity that better represents the scope of our impact and individuality.”

The agency was founded as Tri-Village PADS in 1992. It provided overnight emergency shelter for homeless people in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, according to a news release. The name was changed to West Suburban PADS in 2000 after the service area expanded.

Housing Forward now offers six program areas to help people transition from housing crisis to housing stability. Housing Forward is the largest provider of supportive housing in west Cook County, according to the release. It is the only social service provider in west Cook County with a comprehensive, long-term solution for helping individuals and families end their homelessness.

Several local business owners helped create the new name and logo: Michaelle Van Linden (K2i Research), Chris Mickens (Educo Web Design), Eileen Molony Photography, Gardi Wilks (Wilks Communications) and Jason Smith (The Book Table).

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