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| 205 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 620, Chicago, Illinois 60606 • phone 312.223.9870 • fax 312.223.9871 |
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The Growing Problem of Homelessness Chicago's homeless service system has become housing of last resort for thousands of individuals and families. Some have lost their housing due to expensive crises such as illness or job loss. Some are fleeing domestic violence. Others come from systems that failed to discharge them into stable housing, such as foster care, prisons, and hospitals. Homelessness creates many costs, from the increased use of expensive crisis services (emergency rooms, jails, psychiatric hospitals, shelters) to the costs of dislocation, such as transportation for children from the shelters where they are staying to the schools where they are enrolled. A number of studies suggest that the cost of "supportive housing"—i.e., affordable housing combined with supportive services that allow people to stabilize and rebuild their lives—could be largely offset by the savings from decreased use of other services. The Movement to End Homelessness Around the country, a growing number of influential voices are calling for a major change in our strategy of addressing homelessness—from managing the problems of homelessness to ending homelessness altogether. The Partnership's position is that, with our collective experience and expertise, we can end homelessness in metropolitan Chicago. A partner in the movement to end homelessness is Phillip Mangano, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on the Homeless, which sets the federal agenda on homelessness. Mangano has called homelessness a "social disgrace" and likens the current moment to those preceding historic transformations as the end of apartheid in South Africa and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is another important partner. Their groundbreaking plan "How to End Homelessness in 10 Years" helped spur the national movement. The Partnership brought NAEH President Nan Roman to Chicago for a membership meeting in September 2000, where she spoke eloquently of the need to shift our focus to ending homelessness. Partnership members enthusiastically adopted this vision and began to push for a strategic shift in homeless policy in Chicago. Numerous alliances are beginning to develop around the vision to end homelessness. 
A recent report by a consortium of private foundations, including the Schwab Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, concludes that "There is reason to hope that we can end homelessness within a decade. Community-based coalitions, governments and foundations are poised for an historic collaboration, giving us good reason to believe we can end homelessness."The Partnership to End Homelessness is helping to lead this movement in metropolitan Chicago. As the first major city in the country with a plan to end homelessness endorsed by the Mayor, Chicago is at the forefront of the movement to end homelessness. Partnership members helped galvanize this movement by identifying leaders, creating a collective vision, providing members' expertise, and building political alliances. As the movement to end homelessness gains momentum, Partnership members will continue to stand at the forefront, as advocates and as a collective voice of experience. |
More about: Homelessness Statistics |
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