10 Year Plan to End Homelessness

"There’s No Place Like a Home" - Chicago’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness

In January 2003, the Mayor endorsed a 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness (the Plan) that was developed in conjunction with hundreds of stakeholders through the Chicago Continuum of Care. Joined together in a common vision, the public and private sectors have begun to implement the Plan, which calls for sweeping changes in how homeless services are delivered in Chicago. The common vision has three core tenets: Prevention, Housing First, and Wraparound Services.

Prevention: By providing either one time or short-term financial assistance for rent or utility bills, individuals and families are able to maintain their homes and not become homeless. It is estimated that 10-15% of the people who enter Chicago’s homeless system could be prevented from doing so with targeted financial assistance.

Housing First: We will effectively end homelessness if we move people to a permanent, stable housing arrangement where their other needs can be met. Interim housing is a short term housing program that rapidly re-houses persons who are homeless into appropriate and affordable permanent housing within a 120 day time goal. The focus of this program is to stabilize and assess the household and connect them to housing and community-based social services.

Wraparound Services: Supportive services are essential to addressing a person’s root causes of homelessness, maintaining stability, and promoting community integration once in permanent housing. An important piece of technology to aid in the coordination of wraparound services is the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), an effort led by the Chicago Department of Human Services. HMIS is a client tracking and reporting system that will tell us how many people use homeless services, what their service and housing needs are, and the organizations with which they are working. For more details on the Plan to End Homelessness and the City’s projects associated with the Plan, please see links below.

For further information, contact Tami Cole 312.743.0300.

Click here to view the State of the Plan - Semiannual Progress Reports on the Plan to End Homelessness