Oak Park has approved allocating $366,965 to Housing Forward to support operating costs of its new emergency overnight shelter at 112 S. Humphrey Ave., replacing the one at the St. Catherine – St. Lucy Rectory.
Housing Forward had intended to double the number of beds available at the rectory at 38 N. Austin Blvd. from 20 to 40. But upgrading based on safety needs and code compliance proved to be too expensive.
The new site, owned by the Oak Park Housing Authority, will also allow for 40 beds. Housing Forward now aims to open the new shelter by mid- to late-April 2025, according to Neighborhood Services Director Jonathan Burch.
The clients at the rectory will move to the new shelter. The additional roughly 20 beds will be open for new clients, but individuals with ties to Oak Park will be prioritized first.
Those ties could be recently losing housing in Oak Park, having a personal connection like a family member in the village within the past 24 months, working in Oak Park or being found unsheltered here, according to Armando Smith, Housing Forward’s chief program officer.
Although those with ties to Oak Park will be prioritized for the 20 additional beds, if no one meets those criteria, the beds will be open to others in need.
“For right now, [this is] sufficient capacity to cover the existing clients who are unsheltered in Oak Park, provide them shelter and … [put] them on a path to independence,” Trustee Brian Straw said.
The funding agreement for $366,965 will cover operating costs through the end of 2025, Burch said. Housing Forward also received about $250,000 from Cook County for the shelter for capital needs.
A national increase
National rates of homelessness increased by 18% from 2023 to 2024. In Illinois, there was an 116% increase in homelessness. And suburban Cook County saw a 12.5% increase.
Those numbers could grow again. To meet the increasing need, Housing Forward is expanding its emergency shelter.
Housing Forward’s street outreach in Oak Park saw an increase of 23%, according to Becki Stone, Housing Forward’s director of impact, system performance and strategy. And families with minors experiencing homelessness in Oak Park increased by 80% from 2023 to 2024.
Stone pointed out that of the individuals staying in Housing Forward’s overnight shelter from 2020 to 2024, 42% of them have some type of income. And 77% of individuals in the shelter during that span were not chronically homeless, meaning they had not been homeless for 12 months or more.
Of those who leave the shelter, 27% move to another Housing Forward housing option, such as interim housing.
“We need more shelter options for these individuals,” Stone said.
Street outreach encounters have also risen consistently since 2022, Stone said, similar to state and national trends. Almost 40% of individuals engaged in Housing Forward street outreach from 2020 to 2024 did have some type of income. And 78% of these individuals were not chronically homeless.
“This makes me feel hopeful that there are a lot of opportunities here to work with these individuals and get their households into homes as soon as possible,” Stone said. “We also have a team developing alternative methods to identify housing for different demographics. So, for veterans, for seniors, for adults with disabilities, for families.”
As of Feb. 3, Housing Forward has 18 clients engaged in Oak Park street outreach. Once the new shelter is open, all of them would presumably have a place to sleep. But more individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness might be identified, too.
“We cannot promise that we will be able to engage every single individual, but we will do our best to try,” Stone said.
New shelter
Of the $366,965 Oak Park dollars allocated, the majority will go to personnel costs to keep the shelter running. Other costs include utilities, food, rent and hotel stays for immediate support.
Trustee Cory Wesley said he’s willing to lobby the board for more money to support efforts like these to tackle homelessness in Oak Park. In future discussions, he said he’d like to understand more about how additional resources can reduce either the waiting times for shelters or moves into interim or supportive housing.
Early intervention to prevent homelessness is also key, Wesley pointed out. Stone explained Housing Forward does work to help with rental assistance, back pay on utilities and navigating relationships with landlords to prevent eviction. The nonprofit also puts effort into quality case management to divert individuals on the brink of homelessness to other options, such as staying with a family member.
Village staff have also been working to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with landlords who have available units.
Trustee Ravi Parakkat questioned how long an individual would need to have a personal connection to Oak Park within the established 24-month period eligibility to qualify for shelter preference. If someone’s family member lived in Oak Park, and a person slept on their couch one night in the past 24 months, would that count?
Smith said Housing Forward is still working on the definitions. But it appeared that the decisions might be made on a case-by-case basis depending on the criteria.
“I don’t want us to be creating some unnecessary, bureaucratic hurdle that prevents people from getting housing,” Straw said.
But after those Oak Park-centric individuals are prioritized for the emergency shelter, they won’t be prioritized over others to enter other programs, Stone said. The factors for those decisions include the length of time waiting, household size, funding requirements or illness.
Smith also said Housing Forward is working with other municipalities to open overnight shelters in nearby areas so the only one available through them isn’t just in Oak Park.
“Our approach is to get the village, the community and the congregations, to own the problem,” he said. “We don’t want to go and start a shelter with no support from the community.”
Oak Park also recently approved more than $1.9 million in funding from the housing trust fund for two affordable housing developments. And Burch said the board can expect a larger strategic conversation about support for individuals experiencing homelessness as forthcoming on its agendas.
“It’s not just a matter of housing individuals, even on a temporary basis, but also providing that support so that they then can move on, brick by brick, [to] more stability,” Trustee Lucia Robinson said.
