Friday, January 9, 2009

JPUSA To Manage Epworth Shelter

By Ofelia Cassilas & Deanease Williams-Harris Chicago Tribune Breaking News
An emergency response center for men that was in danger of closing will remain open, but it will be managed by a different social service agency, officials said.
In November, the REST Warming Center for men, run inside Epworth United Methodist Church at 5253 N. Kenmore Ave., was looking for a new location after it lost city funding.
Then the center regained the money but still faced closing if it could not find a new home by Jan. 16.
On Wednesday, the office of Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) sent an e-mail to residents of her ward saying Epworth church officials had "graciously agreed to keep the shelter in place with changes."
"There is a new space-sharing agreement, heating assistance arrangement and a new direct provider," says the e-mail, which was sent by Doug Fraser, Smith's chief of staff.
As of Jan. 16, Kathleen Ahler, executive director of REST, will no longer run the shelter, as she has for 14 years.
"We have run that site without complaints from neighbors," a tearful Ahler said Wednesday. "You don't replace an agency that's done an excellent job."
At the same time, Ahler said, she was relieved that the shelter would remain open.
"I feel no support from the city for all the effort we've put in for the last 14 years at this site," she said.
Brady Harden, president of Inner Voice Inc., the non-profit that doles out more than $2 million in city funding to emergency-response centers for almost 1,000 beds, said Epworth church officials contacted him and said they wanted a new service provider to run the shelter.
"It was a landlord-tenant issue. The landlord decided to go in another direction," Harden said.
The church "wanted to continue to operate the program but with a different provider. They asked if we could recommend one," he said.
Pastor Joe Johnson of Epworth said Thursday he was notified of the new arrangements and confirmed the shelter would now be managed by the Jesus People, an organization based in Uptown.
Johnson declined to elaborate on the funding and management changes, but said, "We are very satisfied with the outcome of what has happened."
The shelter will work with local agencies to connect participants to interim housing and social services, according to the letter from Smith's office.
Officials at the Chicago Department of Human Services and Fraser could not be reached for comment Thursday.

52 comments:

  1. I can't complain..keep the religious groups in the churches. Then the CHURCH can keep scratching their heads as to why people are flocking away from it in the 21rst century.

    I was talking with a friend today about why these groups didn't and don't respond to James Cappleman. After all wouldn't a person who is trained social work benefit their cause more than Helen? Helen's friends get rich off real estate and development while Richard's friends volunteer throughout the community.

    The only answer is that organizations like JPUSA and Couraj are more fearful of loosing political clout than helping the people they pretend to fight for.

    So to finish my point..I have no problem with the political groups going in to the churches...I do have a huge problem with the churches going in to the political field.

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  2. " ... keep the religious groups in the churches."

    this new management contract will pump minimally tens of thousands probably six figures of public money a year into JPUSA

    whatever you think of faith-based initiatives, I'm far from convinced this particular organization is a worthy partner for the taxpaying public

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  3. I didn't say give them money Hugh..I just meant lock them in the building.

    Thanks for the FYI though.

    Was that photo taken at the bird sanctuary? HIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOO!

    On that note Im off to think happy weekend thoughts.

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  4. If I was homeless I'd migrate south for the winter. Seriously, I'd wait for good weather and walk to Canada, where people don't mind paying a little more in taxes to help those in need for a better society as a whole. The governent is also more transparent.

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  5. So, I've read up a bit on JPUSA and don't find them any more offensive or less capable than the catholic church. Sure they have their fair share of scandal, all religions do, but they have helped people, too. The salvation army discriminates against women and gays, where's the outcry? The catholics pray on little boys, and the protestants hate everyone who's not protestant or straight. It can't hurt to let JPUSA have a shot at it.

    And I'm right there with Andy on that character that stood at the meeting, I thought he was a big 'ol 'mo, too.

    But regardless of what he is, give them a chance. Look at the neighborhood, what more harm could they do? If you don't like their religion, don't join their church.

    And ignore yeahcanihelpu. See it for what it is.

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  6. I wonder if the R.E.S.T. shelter at the People's church will now be forced to close? With some luck, Ahler will be forced out of R.E.S.T. all together.

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  7. what more harm could they do?

    Yes. Let's keep lowering the bar in Uptown since it couldn't possibly be any worse, right?

    We're only dealing with peoples' lives, after all.


    Following that logic, we may actually be better served letting the Girl Scouts run a homeless shelter.

    They've helped people, are pretty free from scandal, haven't discriminated against women or gays and have kick a** cookies.

    BTW: The catholics pray on little boys

    Rarely has a spelling error made me laugh so hard.

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  8. Ladies and gentleman,

    The Reason JPUSA doesn't like James is because he is gay. Not to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room....but it is the truth. I tried to get him an audience with them when he was running for office. (He does not know this.) That was the response I got.

    So the, the bottom line is, even though James might be more qualified to actually help the poor then Shiller, religion trumps the issue.

    I call it bigotry, they call it religion.

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  9. Wow.

    That was such a bad post. Based on some anger with JPUSA. The issues are not that simple. Sorry for regressing into an angry blogger....

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  10. As someone who has been involved in this discussion since Mary Ann Smith brought it to the 48th Ward's attention, I feel, that at a minimum, JPUSA will probably be a better operator than REST. Fact of the matter is, that REST apparently couldn't keep the host (Epworth) from facing financial difficulties because of their management and/or operations. It may not have been all REST's fault, but those are the facts.

    As a gay man, I couldn't help but notice during this discussion that I couldn't think of a single place in Chicago where I would be welcomed if I were homeless because of either the anti-gay religion of the host and/or the operator. I think there is a need for at least one secular operator of shelters (both for m/w) on the north side for people who don't want to have a heaping of right wing moralism (even if the "heaper" claims to be left wing) forced down their throat when they are most vulnerable.

    I would hope that there would be some sort of operator other than a religious group that forms here in Chicago. I am not aware of such an operator in Chicago, but I am by no means an expert.

    The monopoly on this market by religious groups is so pervasive in this area that I just would feel better if there was an opt-out for my community and secular folks in general and would leave the assorted religious groups in charge of the existing shelters for now.

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  11. From what I understand, JPUSA is a cult.

    I don't know how one measures the barometer of a cult. Wasn't Jim Jones in Guyana a cult?

    Regarding 'social services', there clearly should be a separation of church and state.

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  12. I'm not speaking for Chuck (he's more than capable enough to do that himself)...he never said that only christian denominations were suspect. I certainly didn't read any "hate" in his post. In fact, he said "all" religiions had their share of scandal and give JPUSA a break. It's a sad fact though that the Roman Catholic church has paid (in the hundreds?)millions to settle claims of clergy abuse. There's little doubt (Cardinal George said as much) that the magisterium covered things to protect the clergy and the church $). Finally, unlike being black, hispanic, asian, or gay individuals do choose the religion they practice (or don't).

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  13. "From what I understand, JPUSA is a cult.

    I don't know how one measures the barometer of a cult. Wasn't Jim Jones in Guyana a cult?"

    Religious orders of any kind (Quakers, Menonites or the Amish, for example) often have "strange" cultural "rules" or behaviors. People throw the word cult around about JPUSA, but I don't know if the unique "rules" of their order go beyond faith to brainwashing and control.

    The web page below, especially the Rick Ross link, is a good collection of the "cult" side of the argument. I'm sure if you were to meet and get to know a JPUSA member(s), there is quite a different side to the story. (although Jim Jones or Branch Dividian members might also have similar defenses of their groups)

    Web Site for Ex-JPUSA Members

    _______________

    "Regarding 'social services', there clearly should be a separation of church and state."

    I don't know that I quite agree with this statement. They say that 90% of the country (or something like that) believes in a higher power or God. When those people are acting out of their faith to do work for the poor you could easily call that a "church" function.

    At what point does funding something for the good of the poor and needy cross the boundary between church and state? Is it simply the non-profit nature of the organization?

    Decades ago, the only hospitals in the US were run by religious groups. (Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc) They arose from people's faith to help those who are sick. If it were not for those churches, we would not have hospitals today.

    Now that hospitals are run by for-profit corporations, is the healthcare in the US any better than it was when churches ran the hospitals? I don't know.

    Does it make seense to subsidize an institution that does good for the community out of faith with tax dollars? I tend to think it does.

    Is JPUSA the "best" choice for a homeless care provider? Probably not.

    Do JPUSA members care enough about what they do and who they are caring for to trust them to try their best? I just don't know.

    Many motives would drive someone to run a homelss shelter, some of which cross the line to being criminal.

    Is JPUSA's motivation honorable?
    Until we have the answer to that question, I don't know that any of us can judge whether they should be given the community's blessing.

    Some have suggested that their motivation is not honorable and their communication (both verbal and non-verbal) to the community has been suspect, at times.

    Hopefully, Ald. Mary Ann Smith has done her homework with this one. Needless to say, this decision is a head turner and makes me question both my view of Ald. Mary Ann Smith and of JPUSA.

    It still doens't change my opinion that Uptown is overburdened with social services, but that is a very different argument than if JPUSA is criminal or just culturally unique.

    Bottom line, I am glad some are drawn to helping the homeless and mentally ill. God knows it is not something I would choose myself. It really does take a special person to deal with what comes with that form of social work. If the person who is doing the work seems "odd" by our TV culture standards, I'm perfectly OK with that. In fact, I like the idea that Uptown welcomes this aspect of human diversity.

    Do I want some of my tax dollars going to those groups who want to do that kind of work? Yes.

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  14. I wonder if JPUSA will have the men from Epworth register to vote in the 46th Ward like REST had these men do?

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  15. In response to Chuck's earlier note, I refuse to give money to the salvation army because they discriminate against gays. Same for the Boy Scouts, and I was one as a kid. I dislike religion generally, but am willing to support groups that do things that I support. I don't know enough about JPUSA to have a firm conclusion about them. Supporting Shiller so strongly is a strike against them. I ahve a problem with how the ward has been managed under Shiller in many ways, and that support - not just passive support, but active, suggests that they are not a part of making this a better place. I would love to have the opportunity to change my mind on this, and it wouldn't even require actively working against Shiller. Assuming that they did, in fact, refuse to meet with James prior to the last election, I have little hope that they are capable of moving in a positive direction. A genuine interest in helping people who need it is being over-used to politically support a politician that uses a strong base of support to avoid doing work that would better benefit all of the people here, and to avoid taking any difficult action to support the heath and safety of the ward.

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  16. Chuck,
    Please define"Big 'ol 'mo."

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  17. I doubt that JPUSA is capable of ever being able to effectively serve the gay population, but that doesn't mean that they aren't helpful to the community at large.

    The concept someone suggested above of a gay run homeless shelter appeals to me. I don't know for certain that there is one, but it would surprise me if there isn't one somewhere in Chicago. If not, there probably should be.

    The loyalty they have to Shiller concerns me greatly. Ald. Shiller isn't the devil, but she sure has shown some very disturbing leadership. The fact that JPUSA supports Alderman Shiller makes me very very mistrustful of JPUSA and their motives.

    Does this blind support of Shiller make them a cult? I don't believe it does.

    Does this blind support of Shiller make JPUSA criminal?

    This question really does give me pause. It honestly does make me wonder what ethical lapses (to put it mildly) they may be hiding.

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  18. The facts that you guys spew from your mouths are astounding...

    If you all are so concerned about REST being managed by Jpusa maybe you should run it. Zesty M. seems like a great candidate for a shelter manager.

    Ohh...and Jason, that must have been a headache taking a pole at Jpusa and asking 500 members plus if they hate James because he's gay.

    I personally don't like him because he smiles too much. Don't trust the creepy smilers.

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  19. Take a chill pill chippers. I was totally joking about the smiling. I actually think James seems like a tremendously sweet and caring man. He makes a great Social Worker. Keep showing those sparkly whites James!

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  20. "If you all are so concerned about REST being managed by Jpusa maybe you should run it."

    There's a distinction here that often gets blurred in any discussion about Uptown homeless shelters.

    1 - Should there be more homeless shelters in Uptown?

    2 - Are the managers of Uptown homeless shelters capable of doing that work in a humane and non-criminal way?

    The answer to #1 for me is clearly no.

    The answer to #2 for me is not so simple. When JPUSA blindly supports Ald. Shiller, I really have to question their motives.

    When homeless people are basically expected to be slaves on election day, forced to vote in a very specific way, I have a huge issue with that.

    Some believe that the end justifies the means. I strongly disagree, and it makes me wonder what other ethical lapses lie beneath the surface that I'm not aware of, but should be.

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  21. "Should there be more homeless shelters in Uptown?"

    I thought REST had been running for years. Not adding another shelter. Trying to maintain one.

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  22. Well if you just joking I will delete my post. Just beware of the slippery slope of "joking" about physicality.

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  23. Let's face it this is just Smith helping Shiller in the next election they made a back room deal. Where Helen won't push Labor Ready and Smith would let JPUSA run the shelter.

    I think we need to tax all charities at some rate and the IRS needs to audit them every year.

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  24. I think a good point raised by James a few times is that a large number of shelters, on its own isn't a problem - its the effectiveness of those programs (re: treatment, evaluation) and accountability that is the real problem.

    Shelters and SRO buildings are a big business if you can get into them, and poor management/corrupt management seems like it can be a reward unto itself - if you think about it, nearly all of your funding comes from the government, so there's guaranteed cash flow, and I imagine there's a load of breaks as well (taxes, etc). I would believe that if you were the operator of such a business (or service, depending on your view) would want to keep that cash coming in. If someone doesn't get better, the checks keep coming in.

    I'm with Zesty in that I believe that these services are needed, that when someone falls on hard times its good to have those who care enough to give their time and efforts to assist the less fortunate. But how to keep everyone honest? I feel sorry for the guy who is mentally ill, or has become an alcoholic. When he tries to jump me on my way home from work for money for drugs, then I don't feel sorry anymore.

    Accountability for the SRO's and shelters really seems to be the key, at least to me.

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  25. Uptown Girl, your point about REST not being a new shelter is very important to this discussion. That's why I said what I did about the two distinctions above.

    Yes, I don't believe there should be more homeless shelters in Uptown, but am very pleased that Uptown does such a remarkable job serving the homeless population of Chicago. Other Chicago communities could learn a lot from Uptown.

    "Zesty M. seems like a great candidate for a shelter manager."

    I'm not sure quite how you meant this, sarcastic or not, but personlly I think I'd be a terrible shelter manager. Like I said before it takes a very special person to serve the homeless and mentally ill. Those are not my gifts.

    Since you were probably saying this to be sarcastic, it might also help to understand that I do have friends who are homeless couch surfers. I also have friends who are homeless because they have been kicked out of their home by their parents.

    I also have friends who are homeless because they have so many medical bills that they can't afford to even rent. I also have gay friends who are homeless because they have drug addictions and can't afford rent.

    I also have friends who are homeless prostitutes, hustlers, drag queens and strippers, using their bodies to find shelter for the night. One friend I have is schitzofrenic to the point that he will probably never be able to stay on his meds long enough to lead a stable life.

    Most gay people have the kind of homeless friends I describe above. Homelessness is so well understood in the gay community that I often forget that this doesn't always translate when a discussion about homelessness takes place.

    I also have formerly homeless friends who make more money than I do. One friend in particular stayed in a homeless shelter in another city that was so poorly managed that it was only what I could describe as hell on earth. Fortunately, she rose above her depression to escape that situation and rebuild her life.

    For those people who do not have any homeless friends, I strongly suggest you expand your horizons on that front. My homeless friends are some of the most important people in my life.

    Do I believe Uptown should have more homeless shelters? No.

    Do I believe JPUSA should be trusted with our tax dollars to run a shelter? I honestly don't know. I certainly hope so since they do receive tax dollars, but I still have serious doubts. Their support of Ald. Shiller is a big part of that.

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  26. Chip,

    Give me a break. I don't need to be reprimanded by you for making fun of peoples appearances. Are you giving me advice from the lessons you learned?

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  27. The reason JPUSA supports Shiller is because they have interests to protect. That's not wrong, that is the reason you vote for a particular candidate. Their interests are probably different than most people on this blog and that doesn't make them evil or unworthy.

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  28. "I don't need to be reprimanded by you for making fun of peoples appearances."

    Well it would seem you do.

    Eat a sandwich.

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  29. That's not wrong, that is the reason you vote for a particular candidate.

    Indeed.

    However, there may be cause to believe that they do more than simply vote to support her.

    Being a polling place for the precinct is awfully convenient, too.

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  30. JPUSA's main focus ( like all cults ) is the survival of JPUSA.

    It's NOT about helping the poor - it's about obtaining $$$$$.

    Question their motives and they come back at you with "hating the poor", or some such assinine arguement.

    There are HUNDREDS of former JPUSA members who are still hurt and broken after leaving the place years ago. Some never recover. Some leave with no job, no car, no place to stay, etc. ( One 30+ male left a few months ago, after having lived there for 20+ years, and is in dire need of all of the above. His dear sweet parents literally dropped him off on Jpusa's doorstep 25 years ago. What a tragedy.)

    "Fresh meat and mullah" is why JPUSA is doing this. The economy is probably affecting their businesses, so when this opportunity comes along, they are able to snag it.

    Did Shiller help them land this gig? If so, was her idea to get another sizable voting bloc?

    JPUSA will scatch anyone's back they can, if it means that they will be able to profit off of it.
    The money will eventually trickle-UP to the leadership who have it soft and who have a parachute ready in the event of JPUSA's demise. (GODSPEED to that demise!)

    (Where's Trott? Perhaps this explains his absence on his own blog, Blue Christian on a Red Background - just one of 11 blogs of his - since Dec.15. He's probably been scurrying about to land this deal.)

    http://www.exjpusahelp.com has plenty of info on the JPUSA cult.

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  31. Whats the relationship with O.N.E and the JPUSA?

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  32. "Whats the relationship with O.N.E and the JPUSA?"

    From what I understand, both are intentinal communities (communes). ONE's is called the "StONE Soup Cooperative," whose compound is a very nice building in the 4600 block of Malden.

    JPUSA, I believe, is a member organization of StONE Soup Cooperative's non-profit arm, Organization of the Northeast. This group's mission is to collect money from social service groups and Aldermen to organize protests and rallies.

    One of ONE's more famous protest causes is "Stop. Killing. People." This is supported heavily by Gov. Blago's budget and Aldermanic budgets. This protest cause claims they can "insure" that a community will not fall victim to gang violence, because of ONE's relationship with the gangs themselves. Some might call this extortion or organized crime. Some might not.

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  33. If you want to help the homeless, volunteer. I look forward to meeting you all at Epworth either Jan 19th, national volunteer day or some other time. Please let me know what you would like to do to help us. I have no religious background and plan to have all the providers at our block club so we can make sure all questions and concerns are answered.

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  34. I meant to include this:

    Edgewater Day of Service
    President-Elect Obama has asked the nation to celebrate Monday, January 19th, Martin Luther King Day, with a day of community service. Alderman Mary Ann Smith, Senator Heather Steans and Representative Harry Osterman are honoring this call by sponsoring a day of service to benefit Care for Real, Edgewater's Food and Clothing Pantry and the homeless shelter at Epworth Church

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  35. Here is ONE's web site.

    JPUSA is listed as a member organization, called "Cornerstone Community Outreach."

    ONE Web Site

    Web site showing ONE as the "Partner Organization" of the Roger's Park CeaseFire (Stop.Killing.People.)

    "One of the activities, facilitated by Stone Soup Cooperative’s Mark Fick, was to create skits of O.N.E.’s best actions from past years. One action enacted in a skit was the picketing of the office of developer Steve Wolf. Inspiration Café’s Christopher Persons played the part of Wolf, and dubbed himself, “Mr. Important Developer Guy”." PDF Link

    2001 details about joining Stone Soup Cooperative

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  36. In case Christopher Persons sounds familiar, he ran against Mary Ann Smith in the last 48th Ward Aldermanic election. Ald. Shiller's Chief of Staff, Maggie Marystone, left her position to run the Christopher Persons for Alderman campaign.

    Citizens for Christopher Persons

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  37. The only reason I am willing to accept JPUSA getting any of my tax dollars or being promoted in my community is because Epworth apparently seems to be satisfied that they can operate the warming shelter that this community desperately needs to maintain. Epworth is a "reconciling" congregation, meaning that they welcome LGBT congregants as we are, choose to minister to those of us that haven't been permanently turned off to religion by right wing moralism, and don't specifically overemphasize any specific objections to gay people. I note that Epworth has only lost money as a result of operating the shelter and, at best, will only be made whole from this point forward if JPUSA does right by them. Considering what Epworth is willing to shoulder and that they certainly seem to have their hearts in the right place, I am willing to cautiously trust Epworth's initial judgment that JPUSA will behave honorably in running this shelter or that there was no better alternative.

    Having said the above, I think that JPUSA will need to be monitored to ensure that the services we all pay for will be administered without religious judgment and appropriately. They can operate a shelter where vulnerable LGBT clients are "prayed at" and/or subjected to denials of service on their own dime. We pay taxes too and have every right to expect to be treated respectfully when requesting those services.

    There isn't to my knowledge a secular shelter operator who I am aware of that even operates in Chicago. Some organizations whose motives are unquestionable, such as Howard Brown and Heartland Alliance, do provide some homeless services but they aren't experienced shelter operators. Considering Epworth's experience with REST, I can understand and appreciate their desire for someone who knows what they are doing and who has a financial track record. Since there are so many anti-gay groups acting as operators, the LGBT community needs to find ways to take care of our own. Apparently, I am not the only one who doubts that JPUSA will behave appropriately, so it doesn't appear to just be me.

    Maybe some of you Uptown folks can ask O.N.E. to support the same relatively transparent zoning procedure which exists in the 48th Ward in the 46th and that O.N.E. participates in. In the 48th Ward, community groups and residents have a binding vote on zoning matters (gasp). Also, residents have a numerical majority of the votes, so if residents band together in opposition, no outside agency can ram something down everyone's throats.

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  38. I should say I concur. JPUSA is homophobic. While working for Center on Halsted's Youth Program a couple years ago, a young woman was beat up by a JPUSA member after he suspected her orientation.

    When I went to Cornerstone to speak to case managers about working with GLBT homeless youth, they refused to speak to me saying, "That issue is a private matter between the parents and their children." Of course, that's usually why GLBT youth have become homeless in the first place.

    As a case manager who works with the homeless in Evanston, I was happy to hear that Epworth wasn't closing. But with JPUSA running the show, I'm not so sure.

    Between Sal Army and JPUSA, religious-based social services are 0-2. But there are non-religious shelters. Lincoln Park Community Shelter off of Fullerton and Northside Housing & Supportive Services located in the Lakeview Lutheran Church on Addison are both non-religious. Also, Breakthrough Urban Ministry which was at Ashland & Foster is still a great shelter for both men and women now located on the west side.

    In short, Uptown Social Services need to be held to a higher standard, whether they are religious or not.

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  39. Lets be very clear here, that this allstarted in 2005 when Epworth just wanted REST to help with the gas bill, they usee the space 80% of the time. REST ignored their requests and told the churches to pay for their business expense,t he gas bill. Thats all this was about.

    I can only hope it was the right decision, REST was not a good situation with Epworth. Personal views of JP and their religion should not come into this publically funded shelter. Epworth does no preaching to men to convert it is merely a shelter landlord and fheir congregation frankly is mostly straight Africans and community people.

    Every year when Epworth served their Thanksgiving dinner and REST was invited, they sent or did nothing, when ECC and Doug F. from MAS and bunch of folks did repairs at Epworth through the years and invited REST, they did nothing.
    REST put a washer in the gym without telling anyone and flooded their library, REST ignored them and didnt help with any repairs.

    If you should have any private information I should know please write to EBNA60640@yahoo.com, the block club which this will reside in and I am the President.

    Thank you for this great input.

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  40. "From what I understand, both are intentinal communities (communes). ONE's is called the "StONE Soup Cooperative," whose compound is a very nice building in the 4600 block of Malden. "

    correction: StONE Soup Cooperative's compound is in the 4600 block of Beacon. (I sometimes get the two streets confused) They also supposedly own another property. I've always wondered if this is the big white house on Leland & Dover, but am not sure.

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  41. Didn't Christopher Persons move out west or something after the election?

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  42. Why would ONE have any say on placing JP?

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  43. I think the issue with 'churches' running these shelters, is the inevitable 'welcome to our JPUSA planet' indoctrination.
    Not to mention Shiller's shady back room deal.

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  44. "StONE Soup Cooperative," whose compound is a very nice building in the 4600 block of Malden.

    off-topic, but what is the address on Malden?

    I found 2 properties owned by the Stone Soup Cooperative

    3549 S HOYNE, PIN: 17-31-306-017 brick 2-flat

    1430 W LELAND, PIN 14-17-102-015, 2-story frame home w/ 3 units, included in "Dover" historic district

    mortgages provided by Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF)

    their N Ashland location appears to be leased from the Catholic archdiocese

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  45. Interesting, I noticed that the Chicago Community Loan Fund that provided a loan to the Stone Soup Cooperative also loaned money to Holsten for the Wilson Yard developement. Small world!

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  46. Chicago Community Loan Fund 2006-2007 Annual Report

    FOR-PROFIT PREDEVELOPMENT/CONSTRUCTION LOAN

    Wilson Yard Development 1 LLC +
    Predevelopment loan for mixed-use
    housing and commercial development
    Loan amount: $500,000

    + Repeat borrower

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  47. ZM, I think you may have Stone Soup & JPUSA properties lumped together

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  48. let's see how MAS likes the spike in voter registrations at 5253 N Kenmore

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  49. Hugh, I meant to say Beacon, not Malden. The property I was thinking of is at 4631 n. beacon, which is the new Chicago House building.

    Your "find" on Leland is the other property I always wondered if it might be a StONE Soup property.

    There is a Jesus People women's shelter at the corner of Leland and Malden in the 4600 block. I believe that address is 4656 N. Malden. It is next door to the scattered site CHA housing and across the street from the large Section 8 building managed by Hull House.

    In the 4700 block of Malden is the Miriam, which is a women's shelter run by Mercy Housing, and further down the block is the buiding just zoned to be family housing, also to be run by Mercy Housing.

    That two block radius is heavily concentrated with subsidized housing of all sorts.

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  50. Did Stone Soup move? A few years ago they were living in an old convent or rectory that's part of the Our Lady of Lourdes complex at Ashland & Leland.

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  51. they're still in there

    Ashland House

    they didn't move they expanded

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  52. The homeless are being housed.

    Ones orientation has nothing to do with ones need for shelter, or assistance in any way. No homeless provider, whether funded by the City or not, should discriminate. The provider that will be running the Epworth shelter has policies not to discriminate. If a person had a bad experience, remember, they were dealing with a human, and all of us make mistakes.

    If one, who had a bad experience, approached the person who may have made this mistake, and asked for an open conversation, they would find that reconciliation isn't far away.

    Temperatures are horrible right now, and thankfully the men have a place to stay.

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