Diane Nilan’s quest to end homelessness

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

I love it when I am reunited with old friends and learn that they have come through adversity to take brave, creative steps toward making the world a better place. I recently reconnected with one very interesting friend from my past — and Aurora’s — Diane Nilan.

Years ago Diane was associate director for Aurora’s Hesed House and director for the emergency shelter there called PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter). When I asked her what her job there entailed, she responded, “Overseeing the entire shelter operation, volunteers and staff at PADS; writing and producing the Hesed Highlights newsletter; creating and implement advocacy campaigns; overseeing maintenance and safety; media relations; public relations and all that went with it; and probably a bunch of other things that I can’t remember.”

Part of her long list of duties was the program she and I had been working on with other dedicated community members in 2001 and 2002 to move people out of PADS and into low-cost apartments as they found work. We were almost ready to kick this program off, when Hesed House was shaken by a power struggle worthy of Chicago politics. In early 2003 Diane very suddenly lost her job. The program was never implemented and I grieved the wasted time and energy, as well as seeing one of the most dedicated and talented people I know pushed out of a job she had done so beautifully.

Given that talent and dedication, I was not surprised to learn that she has spent the intervening years as a powerful advocate for the homeless on a state and national level. She told me the work she had done (while she was at Hesed House) to get the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act (IHCA, aka Charlie’s Bill) passed in 1994 in Illinois and in 2001 on the federal level, as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act (M-V law), led her to grand new adventures.

Diane worked from 2003 to 2005 implementing the M-V law. She collaborated with 305 Chicagoland school districts to help them understand homelessness, so they could better identify and assist homeless students. When that job ended, she was at the point of producing a short video of kids talking about what it was like to be homeless and what school meant for them. But once again her hard work was interrupted before something wonderful could come to fruition.

Understanding the intense disappointment and frustration she must have been feeling to watch more of her time, energy, and talent, and dreams being flushed away, I asked her what she did next. Her answer was stunning, but not surprising for those who know Diane. She said: “I concocted a wild scheme to sell my nice little townhouse, start a nonprofit, buy an RV (with my own money, a la 20-year loan), and travel to non-urban places around the US to interview homeless kids, making my own video.”

It made me think of the way Jesus told people to sell everything they own, walk away from their semi-comfortable lives, and follow him. Very few people in this life really do that. Happily, it is my privilege to know one or two. Diane is amazing. The not-for-profit organization she founded is called “HEAR US.”

I asked her if there were things she had learned back in Aurora that helped her take such bold steps forward. She answered: “Perhaps the most significant gift that my Hesed time gave me was realizing that working to end homelessness required relentless and persistent advocacy efforts. Knowing that the stream of homeless adults and kids would not slow down until we implemented significant systemic changes, I needed to decide if I was going to continue working for this cause or not. Of course, I decided to throw everything I had at it.”

She also credited people she had met during and after her Hesed years for helping her in her quest to eradicate homelessness. She noted Dr. Laura Vazquez, NIU media professor, whom she met through Tom Parisi (formerly of The Beacon-News). She said, “Laura Vazquez has taught me a lot about documentary making, turning me into a bona fide producer! I’ve taught her a lot about homeless kids and families, turning her into a bona fide advocate! Our documentaries, ‘My Own Four Walls’ and ‘On the Edge,’ continue to inform and inspire audiences.”

If, like me, you were a fan of Nilan’s work in Aurora and would like to reconnect and learn more about her current project, you can find her on Facebook or visit her website at hearus.us. May God bless her dreams and her work.

Deena Bess Sherman can be reached at deenasherman@att.net.