Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) is establishing the CCH Mutual Aid Fund to provide modest emergency grants of up to $500 to Illinois residents experiencing homelessness.
Working alongside people experiencing and at-risk of homelessness for the last 40 years, we know that a small amount of money can make the difference between having access to a safe place to stay, a warm healthy meal, or life-saving medication, and not. In these unprecedented times, we hope to be able to provide much-needed emergency support to as many of our neighbors as possible.
CCH will launch the fund’s 5-day application period at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 11. We are using a simple, easy-to-access application, available online or by phone. We pledge a quick turn-around time for providing support. Access to the application will be available on the CCH website during that time, until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15.
Thanks to generous grants from the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund, the Jay Pritzker Foundation, Homestead Affordable Development Corporation, and other support received in response to this crisis, $110,000 has already been committed to this fund. We hope that you will join this effort by donating to grow this fund to $150,000, allowing us to distribute grants to at least 300 individuals and families.
The mutual aid fund will be managed by a committee of grassroots leaders, with support from CCH community organizers. Our leaders are low-income volunteers with lived experience of homelessness who participate as partners in CCH advocacy. They are uniquely positioned to be decision-makers in distributing these funds.
– Claire Sloss, Media
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is now Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness (CCH).