Dear Friends of Shelter,

We need your help and need it quickly! For nearly a decade, Shelter's TLP has been operating successfully and safely in Arlington Heights. But now we need a new home with more space and more modern safety features. We have recently purchased a property in Arlington Heights that will allow more of our young people facing extremely difficult circumstances to overcome challenges and become productive members of our community. We are seeking a special use permit from the Village of Arlington Heights to operate the TLP at this new site.

Our first round of approvals come from the Village’s Plan Commission (they review all permits and zoning). That meeting is Wednesday, September 22 at 7:30pm and is VIRTUAL ONLY. There have been a lot of calls and emails against the TLP and we need for the Village to hear from us. There are a few ways that your voice can be heard.

1. Send an email to the Village at shubbard@vah.com. Please limit emails to 200 words or less. To be shared at the hearing, the email must be received by 2:00 p.m. on September 16. Click here for sample letters. If possible, please make your comments personal to you and don’t read/write from the sample word for word. Your personal touch goes a long way.
2. Attend the Plan Commission meeting via Zoom and speak on behalf of Shelter. Specific details on how to access and participate in this online hearing will be available at www.vah.com no later than September 17, 2021.
3. Share this information with your Arlington Heights friends, neighbors and colleagues and encourage their support.
4. Email each member of the Village Board of your support for the TLP program. Here are the names and email addresses for each member:

Mayor Tom Hayes - thayes@vah.com
Trustee Richard Baldino - rbaldino@vah.com
Trustee Jim Bertucchi - jbertucci@vah.com
Trustee Mary Beth Canty - mcanty@vah.com
Trustee Nicolle Grasse - ngrasse@vah.com
Trustee Robin LaBedz - rlabedz@vah.com
Trustee John Scaletta - jscaletta@vah.com
Trustee Tom Schwingbeck, Jr. - tschwingbeck@vah.com
Trustee Jim Tinaglia - jtinaglia@vah.com

We hope that the Plan Commission will vote in support of the special use zoning permit at the September 22 meeting. If the Plan Commission does not vote to recommend approval of the special use permit, it still goes before the full Village Board at a later date. We will then need a super majority of votes in favor of the permit.

If you have questions about the program, here is a website that can answer most questions. There are also interviews of two of the residents that are particularly powerful.

Thanks again. We are so grateful for your support!

Carina H. Santa Maria, MSW, LCSW
Executive Director

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