The Institute for Children & Poverty of New York City released a policy brief today on homeless families in Illinois and Chicago. The brief describes how Chicago’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness has changed the way Chicago deals with homelessness by moving to a “housing first” strategy that aims to move people quickly into housing and providing them with services once they are housed. 

Since 2003, when the Plan began, Chicago has eliminated many emergency shelter beds and created a new type of 120-day program called “interim housing.” Over the years, CCH has been critical of the implementation of the plan because the city failed to create the permanent housing needed to move people out of shelters while cutting shelter beds that were still in demand.

Many service providers shared our concerns, and in 2006, CCH convened a "Concerned Providers" group to push for improvements to the 10-Year Plan. The new brief highlights the Concerned Providers group and acknowledges that there are shortcomings in the city plan.

The Women’s Empowerment Project at CCH is also profiled and held up as a national model for outreach to homeless families.

To read the full ICP policy brief:

http://www.icpny.org/PDF/reports/ICP_Illinois_Brief.pdf?Submit1=Free+Download

To read the Concerned Providers position paper:

http://www.chicagohomeless.org/what/plan/statement

To read Chicago’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness:

http://www.thechicagoalliance.org/documents/Chicago_Plan_Getting_Housed_Staying_Housed.pdf

- Julie Dworkin, Director of Policy