Shelter Home For Refugee Girls Approved In Arlington Heights

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — With longtime tenant Sisters of the Living Word not running at full capacity, and Northwest Suburban Montessori School no longer a tenant, a property at 800 N. Fernandez Ave. could soon be reused. The Arlington Heights Village Board, at its Tuesday night meeting, unanimously approved a special use permit for Maryville Academy to run a shelter home for refugee girls at the property.

Maryville Academy, a Des Plaines-based social service agency, currently has the property under contract. Maryville is proposing reuse of the entire building for the St. Anne Program, a sheltered home for girls aged 12-17 who are in the United States as unaccompanied children under the care of the Administration of Children and Families and Office of Refugee Resettlement until they are 18 years old.

"I don't think anyone disputes the value of the intended purpose of this use. The question for me, and I think other board members, is whether it's an appropriate use for this particular neighborhood," said Mayor Tom Hayes, prior to the board's vote. "Based on what I've read, and based on that I'm very familiar with the neighborhood, and what I've heard tonight, I think it is an appropriate use."

The property, which covers 3.76 acres in size and is bounded by Fernandez Avenue to the east and Kaspar Avenue to the west, has been the headquarters of Sisters of the Living Word since 1985. The organization at one time included 65 religious sisters with a mission to "spread the word of God through ministry."

According to the meeting's agenda, the eastern half of the property includes an approximately 28,725 square foot two-story building with a partial basement, as well as 52 surface parking stalls dispersed primarily around the sides and rear of the building. The western half of the site consists of an open field and a small fenced/mulched area formerly used as a children’s playground.

The St. Anne Program will have space for up to 10 teenage girls and up to six teenage girls who are either pregnant or parenting, all of whom would live at the facility and attend local schools. Maryville would provide shelter and care for these individuals, as well as assistance in identifying family members in the United States who may be able to provide a permanent home and care for the girls. The facility would be staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Hayes added that the proposed reuse of the site will address a "dire need" for Arlington Heights and surrounding communities.

A number of members of the public spoke at the meeting, including several religiously affiliated. The majority spoke in favor of the proposed reuse of the property.

"I just speak from my heart. That place was the center of so much good that reached out. If you knew it or not, it impacted you," said Sister Carrie Miller, who has been part of Sisters of the Living Word for 36 years. "This would be an honor for this to continue in that vein. This is good for Arlington Heights, just as Arlington Heights will be absolutely magnificent for this group of women and staff."