The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) Commissioner Lisa Morrison Butler 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. City Council is expected to vote on Mayor Emanuel’s 2019 city budget proposal in November. The proposed 2019 budget contains no new taxes, and expands youth investments, builds on public safety reforms, and bolsters the neighborhood services that residents expect.