Sustainable Solutions for Housing Stability: Fulfilling Underserved Housing Needs

Amid an affordable housing shortage, skyrocketing rent, and COVID-era protections disappearing, rising homelessness has become one of the most prominent issues this decade. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness hit a national 15-year high in 2023. Further, a report from the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness revealed that there were more than 68,440 unhoused people in Chicago last year, accounting for people living on the streets, in shelters, and doubled up – sharing living space due to economic hardship.  

In the spring of 2024, the Trust launched the Sustainable Solutions for Housing Stability funding program to support organizations working towards housing security and addressing homelessness in Chicago and Cook County. This includes funding services and initiatives that provide housing opportunities, improve client outcomes, pivot towards culturally relevant services for various populations, and strengthen coordinated care networks.  

One of the program’s key components is supporting organizations fulfilling housing needs, particularly of underserved populations like asylum seekers, at-risk youth, and formerly incarcerated people, among others. “We have folks in the reentry space, working with new arrivals, and working with different communities who are at risk of homelessness. Our approach is person-centered instead of an issue-based approach because we recognize that there are a lot of different people who don’t fit in the traditional service model,” said Critical Needs Program Manager Joanne Otte. 

In August, the Trust awarded more than $2.375 million in grants to 26 organizations exploring solutions to this issue. For three grant recipients, decreasing homelessness and providing housing stability requires understanding the complex needs of the communities they serve.  

Safer Foundation 

Access to safe and affordable housing can make a difference in the lives of individuals reentering society after incarceration and significantly decrease their chances of recidivism. However, because of the barriers they face, they are nearly 10 times more likely to experience homelessness. Additionally, Black and Latine individuals tend to be overrepresented in the criminal legal system, increasing their chances of becoming homeless.  

For over 50 years, Safer Foundation has provided a full spectrum of services and advocacy to support people with arrest and conviction records to help them gain employment and fully participate in society. The organization offers job readiness and placement, vocational training and education services, and holistic support services that include housing. Its Healing Economic And Racial Trauma through Homes (HEARTH) program helps justice-impacted residents in Cook County access affordable housing units and rental subsidies, with the goal of providing them with stability and keeping them out of prison. The program also includes additional wraparound support to help participants with their physical, mental, and socio-economic needs.  

The grant from the Trust will bolster the capacity of the HEARTH program. More importantly, it gives Safer Foundation the flexibility to be responsive to the individual needs of each program participant, says Anthony Lowery, associate vice president of property management.  

“This funding provides us with additional tools to address the urgent needs for families, whether it’s rental subsidy, new furniture, or support for children going back to school,” he said. “It is critically important to what we do.”  

New Life Centers 

One major driver of Chicago’s rise in homelessness stems from asylum seekers arriving from the U.S. southern border. Since August 2022, more than 47,000 asylum seekers have been sent to Chicago, creating an increased demand for emergency services like health care and housing. According to Chicago’s most recent Point in Time survey, which assesses how many unhoused people are living on the streets or in a shelter on a given night, asylum seekers made up 13,900 of the 18,800 count.  

New Life Centers has been one of many organizations helping the city tackle this crisis. After initially providing new arrivals with food, shelter and supplies, the organization launched New Vecinos (“New Neighbors”) in May 2023 to help them resettle after partner organizations help them secure housing. The program assists individuals and families with moving, furniture acquisition, food distribution, and connecting them with community agencies after placement. To date, it has served 5,100 families; however, New Vecinos Senior Director Andre Gordillo says the impact goes beyond just the numbers.  

“The people we serve have gotten into their new homes, gotten work permits, they’re getting married, they’re sending their kids off to school,” he said. “What’s amazing to me is seeing lives transformed.”  

In addition to providing general operating support to New Vecinos, the Trust grant will enable New Lifer Center’s leadership in the One System initiative, a collaboration between the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago with funding support from the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (IOPEH). This initiative aims to take lessons learned from supporting new arrivals to create a model that serves the needs of Chicago’s greater unhoused population.  

South Suburban PADS 

Outside the city, the suburbs have also experienced a rise in homelessness. Cook County Continuum of Care, a network of agencies working together to seek solutions to end homelessness, served an estimated 12,800 people in 2023. Recent Point in Time data shows that on a given night, close to 1,200 people in suburban Cook County are unhoused, with more than 400 in the south suburbs.  

Since 1990, South Suburban PADS (SSPADS) has been working to address the needs of unhoused families and individuals to put them on a path toward economic stability. The organization provides emergency shelter, affordable housing, and support services to meet program recipients’ additional needs.  

With Trust grant support, SSPADS will provide homelessness prevention services, street outreach, emergency shelter, intensive case management, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing to roughly 2,000 individuals and 800 households. In addition, the organization will work to address the rapid increase of homelessness in the Southland and the overrepresentation of people of color in the system.  

According to Executive Director Doug Kenshol, this support also signals other philanthropies to pay attention to both SSPADS’s work and the issue of homelessness beyond Chicago. “The need to address homelessness and housing instability in the south suburbs is just overwhelming, so this transformative gift allows us to do more. Right now, we need everyone from philanthropy to local and state government to step up and help,” he said.  

2024 Sustainable Solutions for Housing Stability Grant Recipients 

Domestic Violence 

• Anew: Building Beyond Violence & Abuse ($75,000) 
• Family Rescue ($100,000) 

Asylum-Seekers 

• Center for Changing Lives ($100,000) 
• New Life Centers of Chicagoland ($125,000) 
• Wellington United Church of Christ / Sanctuary Working Group ($80,000) 

Legal 

• Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness ($75,000) 
• Law Center for Better Housing ($80,000) 
• The Network – Advocating Against Domestic Violence ($75,000) 

LGBTQ 

• Chicago House and Social Service Agency ($100,000) 

Research 

• Community Investment Corporation ($100,000) 
• University of Chicago Urban Labs ($100,000) 

Traditional Homeless Service Provider

• Connections for the Homeless ($80,000) 
• Deborah’s Place ($75,000) 
• Housing Forward ($100,000) 
• Inner Voice ($100,000) 
• Inspiration Corporation ($80,000) 
• North Side Housing and Supportive Services ($100,000) 
• Primo Center ($100,000) 
• Renaissance Social Services ($75,000) 
• South Suburban PADS ($100,000) 

Youth 

• Covenant House ($100,000) 
• LYTE Collective ($75,000) 
• New Moms ($80,000) 

Re-entry 

• Lawndale Christian Legal Center ($100,000) 
• Safer Foundation ($125,000) 
• Saint Leonard’s Ministries ($75,000)