Supporting Information

2009 City of Chicago Homeless Point-In-Time Count Executive Summary The City of Chicago is required to conduct the Point-In-Time Homeless Count every two years in order to gather data on the homeless as a basis for federal funding. The count provides valuable information the City uses in planning for homeless services, and raises public awareness about homelessness in Chicago.

Community Service Centers DFSS’ six Community Service Centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesday, all of the centers are opened from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. By providing evening hours, we hope to make it easier for those who work, care for family members or attend school during the day to visit our centers and learn about the assistance available to their households. City residents who need assistance can drop in or schedule an appointment in advance.

Emergency Overnight Shelters - 2012 The following page contains a listing of Emergency Overnight Shelters.

Emergency Response FSS Emergency Response Teams are on duty 24/7 to assist with non-life threatening situations. People in need of immediate shelter, food or relocation can call 311. 911 is the number to call for police, fire and medical emergencies. If someone is concerned about a relative, friend or neighbor and can’t make contact with the person, they can call 311 and request a well-being check.

Home to Stay Program Furniture Donations Organizations can support the effort to end homelessness in Chicago by sponsoring a neighborhood furniture drive. Donations help homeless families and individuals who are newly housed, furnish their homes.

Homeless Outreach and Engagement The first step in housing homeless people is to engage them in the process. For most that is easy, they are anxious to regain the stability of permanent housing. But for others who have a history of life on the streets or making the rounds of shelters, engagement can be a challenge. The Department of Family and Support Services conducts a variety of outreach activities.

Homeless Prevention Through six Community Services Centers and its emergency response operation, the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (FSS) conducts intensive case management. Every day we help people in crisis regain stability and retain their housing.

Housing First Safe, secure housing provides a powerful incentive to those who have suffered homelessness. People are motivated to focus on the services that will help them retain their new home, stability and independence.

Plan to End Homelessness Chicago’s Plan to End Homelessness represents a new approach. Rather than place homeless people in temporary shelters, the goal is to find them permanent housing with supportive services right away.

Shelter System Chicago must maintain temporary shelters until sufficient Interim and Permanent Supportive Housing exists.

Supportive Services - Case Management The Department of Family and Support Services provides case management through its six Community Services Centers and Emergency Response operation. DFSS also funds private agencies to provide case management and a range of support services including employment training and placement, education, substance abuse treatment, mental health care, domestic violence assistance and more.