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* From a slide-show presented today to a legislative committee by Illinois Office to Prevent & End Homelessness director Christine Haley…
…Adding… The governor’s office followed up with some info on the proposed Home Illinois program…
Home Illinois begins with a new investment of $50 million this year, bringing total funding to $350 million in key investments to increase homeless prevention, support crisis response, expand housing units and staff, and ensure every person has the opportunity to thrive.
Investments include:
* $26 million to provide homelessness prevention services to 5,000 more families
More than $155 million to support unhoused populations seeking shelter and services $25 million in Rapid ReHousing services to 1,000 households, including short-term rental
assistance and targeted support services
* $40 million for more than 90 new permanent supportive housing units and wraparound
supports and $37 million to create more than 460 non-congregate shelter units $12.5 million to create 500 new scattered site permanent supportive housing units
* More than $30 million to provide street outreach, medical respite, re-entry services, access to counsel and other shelter diversion supports
* $5 million for a new workforce development pilot to help homeless adults attain and retain employment
And…
$50 million increase to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) so families can afford basic necessities like transportation, electricity, and food
* Increases monthly grant payment from 30% to 40% of Federal Poverty Level, meaning an eligible household with one adult and one child will see their grant increase from $340 to $452 per month
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:23 am
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And people wonder why the unhoused are at O’Hare, on the CTA, in Chicago parks…
Comment by Montrose Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:28 am
I do not know what the answer is. Decades ago, many of these unfortunate people were housed in state sponsored institutions for the mentally ill. During the 1970s and 1980s, efforts were undertaken to downsize the institutions and release many persons on the assumption that they could care for themselves and be relied upon to take their prescription medicines. I am afraid many of the homeless have mental health problems and cannot cope on their own.
Comment by Gravitas Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:33 am
I think you’ve got a few different populations among the homeless. You have those with mental health challenges. Most of these folk are going to need wrap around supports to be able to live as independently as they can. People who are from IL or have at least lived in IL a year and just can’t afford a place on their income. These folks just need subsidized housing or in light cases counseling on money management and the advisability of roommates if single. People who have no connection to or history in IL (and I really can’t imagine anyone who moves to IL to be homeless, it isn’t CA or Hawaii), maybe just need a bus ticket back home.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:45 am
At this time of year (Lent), this message seems particularly cruel, and a sign of an insufficiently moral society.
Comment by H-W Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:48 am
“…in Chicago….” Suburban Chicago should step up as well.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:58 am
“I do not know what the answer is.”
Permanent housing with services. That is the answer. We don’t have enough of it to meet demand. We need funding at scale to provide housing at scale.
Comment by Montrose Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 11:59 am
==maybe just need a bus ticket back home==
Well that’s an admirable solution. Stick ‘em on a bus and say have a nice day; not my problem anymore.
Sheesh.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 12:35 pm
Demoralized,
I am talking about internal transfers within the states. If someone has decided, (and I don’t think this happens) that they’d rather be homeless in Illinois than Indiana, I don’t think IL taxpayers have an obligation to take care of them. Migrants awaiting asylum hearings? Absolutely (plus the feds pay for some of this). Someone who moved to IL a year ago and has worked or gone to school here and now fallen on hard times, Yes. But not someone who decided to just relocate to IL and be homeless (and IL is not CA or Hawaii I don’t think this happens here).
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 1:12 pm
=I do not know what the answer is.=
Travel to any major city in Europe and marvel at the fact that people aren’t living on the streets. And then realize that maybe the answers are already there if you look for them.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 1:20 pm
==I don’t think IL taxpayers have an obligation to take care of them==
You’re not making it any better. You’re washing your hands of it. If your conscience is fine with that then ok. Mine wouldn’t be.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 1:35 pm
I have no problem with it. The responsible party for poor Indianans (or Michigans) is the state of Indiana (or Michigan). Not IL, our charge is poor Illinoisians. Otherwise, you could have the situation where 1 state figures out homelessness and makes it so that no one in their state is homeless and just gets swamped by other states sending them their homeless. That would be untenable. And create a moral hazard for the homeless sending states as well by reducing the pressure to act.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 1:52 pm
===Travel to any major city in Europe and marvel at the fact that people aren’t living on the streets.===
I was in Paris in August. Don’t kid yourself, there are homeless people in cities across the globe. It’s hard to see them from the tourist hotels and attractions, but they are there nonetheless.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 2:13 pm
As a regular traveler to Europe, I can attest that homeless folks are there, just in smaller numbers than in the US. They seem mostly of the type to decline or leave housing due to mental or substance abuse problems. So I conclude that you can’t completely solve the problem but you certainly can improve on what we are doing, which is far, far too little.
Comment by Simple Simon Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 2:23 pm
Every major religion teaches responsibility for one another.
Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 2:35 pm
I have no idea where the person who said there is not homelessness in Europe. Last time in Paris, a year ago, there were plenty of homeless in Paris. one guy slept in the door way of our apartment building.
Comment by frustrated GOP Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 2:46 pm
If there no homeless population in Germany, I don’t understand why they sent a study commission to Finland to see what they did to reduce their homeless population.
Finland is probably the biggest success story in Europe re homelessness.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 2:51 pm
===Finland is probably the biggest success story===
I was amazed at the lack of visible homeless people in Amsterdam the last time I was there. Residents told me, oh, we do have homeless people, but we give them homes.
Paris was an entirely different story. But it seemed to me that many of them I saw were traveling hippie hobos (for want of a better term), kinda like you see in Denver.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 3:01 pm
== ==maybe just need a bus ticket back home==
Well that’s an admirable solution. Stick ‘em on a bus and say have a nice day; not my problem anymore.
Sheesh. ==
I think we can agree there is no magic bullet, no one size fits all solution. Each case is different.
Depending on their circumstances back home (wherever that is), a bus ticket may not be as heartless as it sounds. If they had family and/or a support network there, it may be a better solution that starting from scratch here.
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 3:42 pm
== If someone has decided, (and I don’t think this happens) that they’d rather be homeless in Illinois than Indiana, ==
I can’t speak to current conditions because I’ve been retired too long, but at one point in my career Illinois *did* have higher welfare benefits than the surrounding states, and was seeing an influx because of that. During a meeting about how to handle the caseloads on the local offices, I suggested, partly tongue in cheek, that we just set up terminals on all the bridges coming into Illinois and capture their information as they came in.
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 3:47 pm
I also don’t know the answer to the problem and am sympathetic to their plight. They are still an issue on the CTA, at times smoking and taking up a lot of space during rush hour. I don’t mean to sound insensitive but Dorval Carter is the guy who is paid to find transit solutions (at least) and has totally failed. CTA can’t afford to lose its commuter base.
Comment by Original Rambler Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 4:00 pm
Homeless people need housing and in turn jobs to generate wealth to sustain that housing or become a homeowner. The CTA is desperately short on workers causing severe budget problems. Oh, if only there were some way that these problems could solve each other.
Comment by Nuke The Whales Wednesday, Feb 22, 23 @ 4:12 pm
“ Homeless people need housing and in turn jobs to generate wealth to sustain that housing or become a homeowner.”
53% of homeless people are already employed.
Comment by Betty Draper’s cigarette Thursday, Feb 23, 23 @ 4:46 am