Park district commissioner urges residents to a March 7 housing-needs meeting in Hazel Crest

Sandra Wells, a sitting park district commissioner and outreach manager for Neighborhood Housing Services, urged residents to attend a March 7 meeting in Hazel Crest to outline neighborhood housing needs and deferred-maintenance problems and to press agencies to realign programs with community priorities.

Wells said her outreach work leads her to question whether current services "align with the needs of the people," pointing to rising costs and basic gaps in support. "So my suggestion to them is listen to the people, see what they need, and make sure that we're aligning those services to that," she said.

Wells listed common household pressures in the Southland — higher taxes, food insecurity and high insurance costs — and said those shifts mean programs must adapt. She also raised specific program shortfalls: "Deferred maintenance is a big deal out in the Southland. I get calls every day. Do we have roof programs? No. We don't," she said, adding that when grant-funded programs do appear, distribution sometimes feels like "feast or famine."

Wells encouraged residents to bring neighbors to the March 7 meeting so officials and partner agencies can hear firsthand what households need and be held accountable for following up. She urged early registration, saying space in Hazel Crest may be limited, and noted extra flyers were available at the meeting.

The comments were framed as a call to action rather than a request for a specific formal board vote; Wells said program design and any subsequent pilot or funding decisions would take time and require decision-makers to report back after collecting community input.