2019 Chicago Budget Plan To Address Homeless Encampments

The encampments under Lawrence Avenue (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune)

Today the City announced that a additional $1.1 million has been added to the proposed city budget to address homelessness, particularly focusing on homeless people living in encampments.

"Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) Commissioner Lisa Morrison Butler today announced a $1.1 million investment in the 2019 budget to support homeless residents in Chicago. Funding will support a pilot to support homeless residents living in encampments, as well as supportive services for homeless families transitioning into Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) housing." [....]

"The Encampment Response pilot will provide intensive outreach and supportive services to homeless encampment residents with a goal of transitioning residents to permanent supportive housing. Investments in the 2019 budget will include:

• Encampment Response/Navigation Team: The team, which will include a nurse practitioner, will work alongside other city agencies to provide sustained, coordinated support for encampment residents.
• Navigation Center for Encampment Residents: The Navigation Center, a low-barrier shelter successfully piloted this year, will continue to provide encampment residents with temporary housing until they can be successfully matched with permanent supportive housing.
• Overnight Encampment Outreach: Outreach teams will provide overnight support to encampment residents and follow-up with case managers during business hours. 

The encampment pilot was designed by the Mayor’s Interagency Task Force to Reduce Homelessness and modeled after a successful initiative developed by the City of San Francisco."

You can read the entire statement here. The City Council will vote on 2019 budget at its November meeting.