Chicago Devotion Recognizes the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Written by Jon-Michael Foshee
As part of our service to the community, the Chicago Devotion Team highlights outstanding organizations, businesses, or people that inspire our community. We are proud to recognize the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless for their amazing work in advocating and taking action to prevent and end homelessness since 1980.
Our mission is to create and share positive resources to better the lives of our fellow Chicagoans, and to spread knowledge of helpful tools available to you. Recognizing Chicago is our way of highlighting those that make our city a better place on a daily basis.
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has a 4 out of 4 star, 100% score on Charity Navigator, a non-profit company built to help millions of people take action and support the causes they care about by connecting them to the best charities that align with their passions and values.
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless fights to prevent and end homelessness through the following programs.
Outreach Programs
Each month, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless organizers offer multiple outreach services at 30 facilities across the city. They serve families, youth, adults, and people living on the streets and in unsheltered communities.
Their goal is to offer practical information to those in need, such as informing homeless parents about child rights to free school transportation, and eligible low-income older youth and adults of their Medicaid health care options.
Speakers Bureau
As part of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless Speakers Bureau, fifteen former homeless youth and adults are featured speaks at events hosted by schools, universities, religious organizations, and civic groups. Their outreach efforts reach approximately 2,000 people per year.
Speakers powerfully recall their own lives and journeys with school access, housing, jobs, and how to develop opportunities and resources for those in need.
The Reentry Project
The Reentry Project addresses barriers homeless people face during their reentry to the community, especially in regard to access to housing and jobs.
The Reentry Project partners in the Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI), working with Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic and Community Renewal Society, to advocate for state policies that remove barriers for people in reentry, including lifetime employment bans and limited access to housing.
Horizons Creative Writing Outreach
The Horizons Creative Writing Outreach program offers creative writing workshops to youth and parents experiencing homelessness in family shelters throughout the Chicago area.
Housing Campaigns
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless proudly began the Bring Chicago Home campaign in 2018 to advocate for a progressive real estate transfer tax (RETT) on high-end property sales over $1 million to be dedicated to addressing homelessness, including new housing stock.
This signature program has since been endorsed by 80 community organizations and advocacy groups. More than 250 grassroots leaders have co-led the campaign on its Grassroots, Leadership, and Steering committees. Steering committee organizations include CCH, Communities United, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, ONE Northside, SEIU-HCII, and United Working Families.
Past project support has been provided by The Chicago Community Trust, Conant Family Foundation, Comer Family Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, Michael Reese Health Trust, Pierce Family Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, and an anonymous family foundation.
No Youth Alone
No Youth Alone also mobilizes youth and youth providers to advocate for state and city resources. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless advocates for the needs of unaccompanied youth, who try to survive without a family or guardian, try to secure food and shelter, try find a job, or want to return to school but don’t know how.
Often, they are unclear where to seek help and who they can trust. These day-to-day challenges in their formative years can cloud their adult lives.
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has successfully drafted and advocated for new legislation to improve the lives of youth homeless and give them live-saving access to medical care and resources, and they consistently mobilize youth and youth providers to bring state and city resources to children in need.
Statewide Advocacy
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless does not accept government funding. Instead, when they advocate for public support, it is directly for the programs that shelter, house, and assist homeless youth, students, families, and vulnerable adults.
Some of their recent advocacy success features the shared advocacy and organizing in Springfield resulting in increased funding for housing programs in the FY23 state budget as well as the passage of HB 5265, HB 4242, and HB 2775, bills that will support K-12 students, increase access to child care, and ban source of income discrimination for renters.
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless continues to push for the passage of important legislation to combat injustice every day.
Homelessness Data Project
To reflect all forms of homelessness that one might experience, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless developed a model for estimating those in temporary living situations. The methodology was developed by the Social IMPACT Research Center of Heartland Alliance, in partnership with researchers at Vanderbilt University and Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
The Law Project
Under the direction of Patricia Nix-Hodes, four attorneys offer free legal services to more than 500 clients a year, providing regular outreach at family, youth and adult shelters. Ninety-five percent of clients live in Chicago, but Chicago Coalition for the Homeless attorneys also advise and represent people living in the suburbs and downstate communities.
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless runs a mobile legal aid clinic for homeless and unaccompanied youth, staffed by four attorneys and led by Beth Malik, associate director of the Law Project. Youth Futures offers regular outreach through Chicago high schools, street programs, health clinics and shelters, including the Broadway Youth Center, Center on Halsted, Covenant House, Ignite, La Casa Norte, and The Night Ministry.
Youth Futures also co-manages StreetLight Chicago, a free mobile app and website that list resources for homeless and unaccompanied youth.
The Law Project can be reached weekdays on its toll-free helpline: 1-800-940-1119
College Scholarships
Each June, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless awards renewable college scholarships to graduating high school seniors who succeeded in school while experiencing homelessness.
Students from Chicago and suburban schools are eligible to apply, as well as Chicago Coalition for the Homeless youth leaders and former youth clients. Thanks to support from long-time donors and a substantial new gift in memory of Jill Meinzer, they were able to increase student awards to $3,500 a year in 2020.
Applications for the 2023 – 24 school year are open. They close at 5 p.m. May 12th.
Click Here to learn more about the eligibility requirements and application process.
In addition to these programs, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless displays up-to-date information on Warming Center Locations throughout the Chicago area to help those in need survive freezing winters.
Chicagoans should call 3-1-1 if they need weather-related assistance in frigid winter weather, including access to homeless shelters or city warming centers.
Englewood Community Service Center
1140 West 79th Street, Chicago, IL 60620
312-747-0200
Garfield Community Service Center (only shelter open at night and on weekends)
10 South Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612
312-746-5400
Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center
4314 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, IL 60653
312-747-2300
North Area Community Service Center
845 West Wilson Avenue, Chicago, IL 60640
312-744-2580
South Chicago Community Service Center
8650 South Commercial Avenue, Chicago, IL 60617
312-747-0500
Trina Davila Community Service Center
4312 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60639
312-744-2014
Our team at Chicago Devotion is proud to highlight the extraordinary efforts the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless performs day in and day out to create housing and improve services and opportunities for people who are homeless or at-risk, and to support the programs that serve homeless families, youths and adults. Thank you for your service to our community.
You can donate to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and help them take action to end homelessness Right Here.
Click Here to contact the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless or use the information below.
70 East Lake Street, Suite 720, Chicago, Illinois 60601
Phone: (312) 641-4140
Toll Free Legal Assistance: 1-800-940-1119
Fax: (312) 641-4144
Chicago Devotion offers an extensive Resource Directory, free of charge, at www.chicagodevotion.com/resource-directory/.
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