Chicago’s Plan to End HomelessnessA Briefing for the Harris School of Public Policy

Presented by:

John W. Pfeiffer, MPAFirst Deputy Commissioner

Chicago Department of Family and Support Services

On any given night, 6,300 people experience homelessness

in Chicago (5,060 sheltered, 1,219 unsheltered, Jan. 2013).

23% of Chicagoans live below the poverty line.

Chicago’s poverty rate has risen 14% in the last decade.

There is a shortage of 180,000 affordable rental units in

Cook County.

A person would have to earn $18.42 an hour to afford a

two-bedroom apartment.

Erosion of mental health services

Low wages & part-time jobs without benefits

High unemployment and underemployment

Inadequate supply of affordable housing

Rising poverty and extreme poverty (>50%

FPL)

Impact of foreclosure crisis on multifamily

buildings

Federal funding cutbacks and sequestration

Inadequate substance abuse treatment resources

Loss of SRO housing stock

Minimal discharge planning from prisons

Annual investment of over $125 million to support a

continuum of services benefiting including:◦ Homelessness Prevention◦ Outreach and Engagement◦ Overnight Shelter◦ Interim Housing◦ Rapid Rehousing◦ Community-Based Case Management◦ Public Benefits Assistance & Advocacy◦ Employment, Substance Use & Mental Health Services◦ Transitional Housing ◦ Permanent Supportive Housing◦ Permanent Housing with Short-Term Support◦ Age-Appropriate Housing for Youth◦ Safe Haven (MISA)

Chicago’s 2014-2018 Five Year Housing Plan

Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund• The nation’s largest municipal rental subsidy program • 2,700 homeless dedicated units

Interagency Permanent Supportive Housing Group• DHED, DFSS, CHA and Corporation for Supportive Housing meet

monthly to:1. Review pipeline of supportive housing deals2. Coordinate funding for development, rent subsidies and services

Plan 2.0 is a broad-ranging, seven-year action plan that reaffirms and builds on the strategies outlined in Chicago’s original 2003 Plan:

1. Homeless Prevention2. Housing First3. Wraparound Services

Over 500 stakeholders participated in the eight-month planning process, including 150 people who have experienced themselves.

1. The Crisis Response System

2. Access to Stable and Affordable

Housing

3. Youth Homelessness

4. Employment

5. Advocacy and Civic Engagement

6. Cross-Systems Integration

7. Capacity Building

1. The Crisis Response System

2. Access to Stable and Affordable Housing

3. Youth Homelessness

4. Employment

5. Advocacy and Civic Engagement

6. Cross-Systems Integration

7. Capacity Building

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Goal: Create an effective crisis response system that prevents homelessness whenever possible and rapidly returns people to stable housing.

Key Objectives◦ Create a coordinate access system for prevention, emergency

shelter, and interim housing by the end of 2013.◦ Double the prevention and diversion resources for families

and singles from $2.2 million annually to $4.4 million annually by 2019 to reduce the number of new households experiencing homelessness.

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Goal: Create and maintain stable and affordable housing for households who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Key Objectives◦ Increase the number of rapid rehousing units from 737 to 2,768 to

meet project need.◦ Increase the number of permanent supportive housing units from

6,842 to 8,814 to meet project need.◦ Harness funding from all levels of government to expand affordable

housing options for extremely low-income households in order to meet the projected need of 3,515 units.

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Goal: Create a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate menu of services for youth who experience homelessness in order to prevent homeless youth from becoming the next generation of homeless adults.

Key Objective◦ Triple the capacity of the youth housing system by 2019 from

266 beds to 800 beds.

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Goal: Increase meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities for people experiencing or most at risk of homelessness.

Key Objective◦ Increase the number of households employed at exit.

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Goal: Engage all of Chicago in a robust plan that creates a path to securing a home for everyone in our community.

Key Objectives:◦ Advocate for additional resources to meet the needs of

people experiencing homelessness.◦ Increase civic participation and commitment to the goal of

ending homelessness.

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Goal: Work across public and private systems of care to ensure ending homelessness is a shared priority.

Key Objectives:◦ Foster sustained, high-level coordination among government

agencies on the issue of ending homelessness by establishing a Chicago Interagency Council on Homelessness by the end of 2013.

◦ Ensure rapid assessment and connection to mainstream resources for all household experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

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Goal: Ensure a strong homeless assistance system capable of implementing Plan 2.0 goals and HEARTH Act performance standards.

Key Objective◦ Increase Chicago’s outcome achievements in relation to Plan

2.0 and HEARTH Act performance measures.

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