Pay-It-Forward House hosts its first visitors

The Pay-It-Forward House at 719 Somonauk St. in Sycamore hosted its first visitors Thursday. The house serves as a home away from home for families of patients at Kindred Hospital. Chronicle file photo ZACH HUSET

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SYCAMORE - A year after discussions began about creating a hospitality house for family of Kindred Hospital patients, the house has opened its doors. The Pay-It-Forward House hosted its first guests Thursday. "It's going great," said Mary Lou Eubanks, who decided a year ago she wanted to create a place where family and friends of Kindred patients could receive temporary housing near the facility. "One guest said she received the first good night of sleep in weeks. Another made a can of soup in the kitchen and said it was nice not having to go to a restaurant. Sometimes those little things can mean a lot." Kindred Hospital treats people with illnesses that require use of ventilators. Patients come from throughout northern Illinois to use the facility and sometimes are there for months. Following a family illness and a stay at a hospitality house, Eubanks wanted to repay the people who had helped her. Instead, she decided to pay the favor forward, she said. She received the city's permission in December to go ahead with the plan. She purchased a house at 719 Somonauk St. and immediately began fixing it up. The home is across a parking lot and a road from the Edward Street hospital. Eubanks has been amazed at the number of people who have donated time, household items or money to create this "home away from home" for people facing what could be the most stressful time in their lives, she said. Donations and volunteers have come from throughout the state. The cost of staying at the home is $20 a night for a single person or $25 for a double-occupied room. Eubanks said no one will be turned away for being unable to pay. Guests also are given chores, such as sweeping the kitchen floor or wiping down the counters. Volunteers are on hand during the day to show guests around and be there when they need to talk. Although the home's volunteers have been assigned times in April, many spaces remain open. "We're looking for some friendly faces," Eubanks said. The home will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to celebrate its opening. The public is invited. The ceremony will take place exactly a year after Eubanks first spoke with a Kindred official about the possibility of opening a hospitality house, she said. For more information, call (815) 895-7548. Renee Messacar can be reached at rmessacar@pulitzer.net.