SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) on Thursday passed legislation out of the Illinois House to fund work therapy pilot programs that have been shown to improve quality of life outcomes, including reduced addiction rates and increased employment stability for homeless adults.
 
Work therapy provides monitored employment situations, usually accompanied by drug screenings and specialized counseling and training, that work to build confidence and comfort with responsibility and provide the structured environment needed to help homeless adults break from previous life situations or behaviors that contribute to homelessness.
 
“Work therapy for homeless individuals has been shown to help many transition from homelessness into a more stable and productive lifestyle,” Yarbrough said.  “With our economy struggling, it is important that we stay a step ahead of growing problems like homelessness and implement strategies that actually help people change their own lives.”
 
House Bill 609, sponsored by Yarbrough, would appropriate $950,000 to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to develop and administer work therapy programs for homeless adults.
 
“The high rate of extreme poverty in Illinois means a lot of people are teetering on the edge of homelessness,” Yarbrough said.  “Though work therapy programs are more geared towards persons experiencing psychological factors that contribute to their inability to turn their lives around, we can learn a great deal about empowering Illinois residents to make positive changes and gain the confidence to break the negative cycles that trap so many in the shadows of society.”

House Bill 609 now moves to the Senate for further consideration.  For more information, please contact Yarbrough’s constituent service office at (708) 615-1747.