Our History
Daybreak of Lisle had humble beginnings in August 1989.
"We started working with just one distressed family," says Sr. Mary Bratrsovsky, OSB, president of the organization. "Due to a divorce and drug abuse, the family had lost their home. A group of volunteers from St. Joan of Arc Parish in Lisle, in partnership with the Benedictine Sisters, organized to find them an apartment and pay their rent until they could get back on their feet."
Since then, Daybreak of Lisle has provided a hand up to over 100 families.
Daybreak has no paid employees. All mentors, workers, and administrators are volunteers. Nearly 100% of donations support program services.
"Each family is supported rent-free for up to two years as they struggle to become self-sufficient," says Mary Ellen Durbin. She and her late husband, Ron, founded Daybreak, and she continues to serve on the executive board. "To qualify, each family must show a real desire to achieve financial independence.
"Our program begins with screenings by Bridge Communities," says Ed Hatfield, program director. "Each family has regular meetings with a professional case manager. Volunteer mentors help the families acquire jobs at a living wage, address child care, secure health and educational resources, build financial skills, and reduce debt.
"Some of these families have become homeowners in the process," Hatfield says. "All have been able to regain a sense of self-sufficiency. Over the years, hundreds of volunteers from the Lisle community have contributed time, financial help, and physical labor to make the lives of the Daybreak families a little easier."
In the beginning, the group just wanted give a helping hand to families who had fallen on hard times. "Little did we know how our lives would be changed," Mary Ellen Durbin says. "Through our relationships with some of the most vulnerable people in our community, we learned how it really doesn't take much for our lives to fall apart. A medical crisis, a divorce, the loss of a job are circumstance that could put any one of us in a crisis situation. For us, Daybreak has become a blessing in our lives."
Pictured left are Ron and Mary Ellen Durbin (left and right) and Sister Helen Jilek O.S.B. (center)