From Ald. Cappleman's recent newsletter:
"UPDATE ON NORTHSIDE SHELTER CLOSING. Ald. Cappleman learned of the Northside Housing shelter's budget crisis from the organization's announcement in September after they had already made the decision to close.
By that time, the Board of Directors of the Northside Housing shelter, located at 941 W. Lawrence, made the decision to let their City contract lapse because they were unable to raise money or obtain grants for an additional $100,000 in funds needed for salary increases, staff benefits, and some infrastructure improvements.
During a meeting that our office finally secured with Northside Housing after the announcement, Alderman Cappleman offered to find the funding needed for the shelter to at least stay open through the spring, if not indefinitely, Richard Ducatenzeiler, Executive Director of Northside Housing, stated that the board had already made the decision to close.
The last day of the shelter's operations will be Friday, Dec. 23. According to the Department of Family and Support Services, less than 15 men now remain in their 72-bed shelter and all remaining men will have the option of transferring to another shelter. With the closing of this location, the Uptown community has 5 remaining shelters in the area."
So, the remaining Uptown shelters make women with children and then women without children their intake priority. That leaves the men out in the cold so to speak. They are offered the options of being taken to the West side (away from the Uptown smorgasbord of free services) or to downtown Chicago's Pacific Garden Mission shelter. Even though PG is a beautiful new facility, the men do not like it there because of all the rules, monitoring, and the requirement to attend worship services. It is a private shelter so it can make it's own rules. Thus, the stand off at tent city.
ReplyDeleteI do hope the activists who encourage those men to stay out in the cold rather than utilize shelter services to "make a point" and to garner media attention, are held accountable if or when someone dies in this frigid cold.
It's ridiculous of the men to choose between being in the cold and NOT going to religious services and obeying rules.
ReplyDeletenobody said that, except you.
Deleteyou got to be kidding me? You mean to tell me these men can't obey the rules and go to pray just to stay warm and safe out of the sub-below zero cold? Man gtfoh!
ReplyDeleteRules I understand, but what kind of religion turns people out I to the cold if they don't pray? Not very charitable or do-onto-othersy if you ask me.
DeleteThey do have a local option during this cold weather of using 845 W Wilson (the city's medical center located 2 blocks east of the viaduct) to stay warm during the day. They can enter Weiss Hospital's emergency room located 2 blocks away (or any hospital or police station) to get an intake, i.e. to have the Dept of Human Services come pick them up. In addition, there are 23 social service agencies that go onsite to provide services to tent city residents, not to mention the informal sources of support that they receive from the tent city organizers. There are organizations that deliver meals to them regularly. Many guys go over to the Cornerstone center at Clifton and Wilson for free meals and a place to hang out during the day. So, they are not without services. What they are doing is rejecting temporary Shelter housing and they are demanding permanent housing. Tent City organizers tell them that free, permanent housing is their right. That's not reality.
ReplyDeleteIn September, the Lawrence Ave shelter did not apply for it's annual $2 million grant to continue operations. Now the tent city organizers are trying to raise $100,000 to keep the shelter open. That is giving false hope and manipulating/misleading the tent city residents into thinking that the shelter will continue if they just hang out a little longer. Look folks, $100,000 is a drop in the bucket to what it takes to run that facility. With the grant money opportunity gone, there is no way that place can stay open for any meaningful time on $100,000 in donations. And, the shelter operators are not interested in staying open. They don't even show up for the press conferences held outside their front door at which activists demand that the shelter be funded to stay open.
What I find interesting is that the very same tent city dwellers, who live in the underpass because they refuse to go to the shelter, are used in press conferences to demand that the Lawrence shelter remain open. Why? They refuse to use it!
I know! So many options! We treat these homeless too well! What more do they want?!?
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