Wicked Good Cafe Helps Homeless Kids

“Wicked good!” is how HEAR US Inc. describes Naperville’s

Wicked Good Café, the site of a book event focused on homeless children,

Saturday, July 20, 11 a.m. Naperville’s acclaimed author and photojournalist

Pat Van Doren’s award-winning children’s book, Where Can I Build My Volcano? will be read by 11-year-old Tess, daughter of Debi and Rick Scott, owners of

the café.

“This is an excellent opportunity for families to expose

their children to the real world of homelessness,” points out Diane Nilan, HEAR

US president and founder. This touching book has local roots—Pat hung out at

the PADS homeless shelter at Hesed House to glean real stories that illustrate

the little-known realities experienced by families in homeless situations. Wanda

Platt, a renowned artist who worked with Van Doren at the Naperville Sun,

illustrated the book.

Thousands of books have been sold nationwide, and Van Doren

received an award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless

Children and Youth for her book. But she and Nilan agree that not enough people

know about or understand the plight and promise of homeless kids, the

underlying mission of HEAR US. “How many people still believe that ‘the

homeless’ means a grizzled guy under a bridge?” Van Doren, a HEAR US board

member, wonders.

Wicked Good’s event timing is particularly welcome because

it comes on the heels of the 20th anniversary of a

Naperville-originated milestone: passage of the Illinois Education for Homeless

Children and Youth Act, aka “Charlie’s Bill,” a name that evolved from Pat Van

Doren’s iconic photo of Charlie, a homeless boy holding a cat, his belly

hanging out and shoes on the wrong feet.

“This event will give kids a chance to learn about

homelessness in their own community,” states Van Doren. “Naperville is very

family friendly. We need to work to extend this reputation to include all

families.” Recent news reports indicate that Naperville school districts are

seeing a significant rise in homeless students identified and served.

Tess will read the story of Susan who, with her mother,

grapples with the many forms of homelessness: doubling up with friends,

sleeping in their car, and then moving to a shelter, modeled after the PADS

shelter Nilan ran at Hesed House in Aurora. “It’s wonderful to have Tess read

this story,” exclaims Van Doren, “because this book is told from a young girl’s

perspective.”

Wicked Good Café (www.wickedgoodcafe.com)

is located at 790 Cress Creek

Square in Naperville(next to

OfficeMax), 331-457-5566. HEAR

US offers plenty of information about homeless children and youth on their

website (http://www.hearus.us), including how

to order their books and videos, also available for sale at this event.

The event is free, with limited seating, so participants are

urged to arrive early, order something to eat and drink, chat with the author,

and be ready to wipe away tears that are bound to fall as Tess shares the

poignant story of a little girl who struggles with not having a place to call

home.

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