South Suburban Nonprofit Supplies Food, Shelter and Clothing to 27 Communities

Together We Cope is a nonprofit organization that works across Chicago’s south suburbs to provide early intervention and prevent homelessness in the region. Photo Credit: Together We Cope.
Together We Cope is a nonprofit organization that works across Chicago’s south suburbs to provide early intervention and prevent homelessness in the region. Photo Credit: Together We Cope.

South Suburban Nonprofit Supplies Food, Shelter and Clothing to 27 Communities

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

Together We Cope is a nonprofit organization headquartered

in Tinley Park that serves 27 communities across Chicago’s Southland.

The organization operates a food pantry and resale shop to assist south suburban residents along with providing counseling and referrals to empower residents and help them to maintain their independence.

“Together We Cope is a prevention agency and we try to intervene before people become homeless by providing rent, mortgage, and utility payments, food, clothing, and shelter. We try to help people by looking at their budget, by perhaps giving them food so they can save a little money there, we make sure that they are signed up to receive a LINK card if they are eligible, and just take a look at the overall situation and see what we can do to step in,” said Kathryn Straniero, executive director of Together We Cope.

There are 27 south suburban communities that Together We Cope specifically targets to provide assistance to and they are in Alsip, Blue Island, Bridgeview, Chicago Ridge, Country Club Hills, Crestwood, Evergreen Park, Garden Homes, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Homewood, Markham, Merrionette Park, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills,

Palos Park, Posen, Robbins, Tinley Park and Worth.

The food bank that Together We Cope operates, located on 17010 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park, is open to the public and part of the Greater Chicago Food Depository network. Through the food pantry, the organization is able to assist more than 1,400 families each month.

“The food party is really the heart of our organization because we are open to distribute food five days a week and we have between 65 and 100 families a day coming to the food pantry,” said Straniero. “There is a lot of food that goes in and out of Together We Cope.”

Because the food pantry is part of the Greater Chicago Food Depository anyone is eligible to receive food from Together We Cope. If a person is out of the organization's service area, they will still be able to receive food on their initial visit, but will also receive information on what food pantries are closer to where they currently live. Straniero said they will, “never refuse anybody food.”

Another significant element of Together We Cope is the thrift shop that they operate, NU2U Resale Shop, which is also located on 17010 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park. Nu2u Resale Shop receives donations daily and has a wide range of clothing for men, women, and children, toys, books, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, and furniture.

“The Resale Shop is so much fun. The majority of our volunteers are in the food pantry and the resale shop and they are wonderful. It practically runs itself and it’s a wonderful conduit for donations to come in for our clients and our clients are allowed to shop over there with a voucher that we give them,” said Straniero.

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