Ending Homelessness Nationally

Read about LPCS' successes in Fiscal Year 2011 here.

At the National Alliance to End Homelessness conference in July, we learned that the American economy is not “out of the woods” in regard to homeless services across the country, despite the fact that many service budgets have been cut at the federal and state levels. The president of the NAEH, Nan Roman, reported that the impressive fact that homelessness has remained steady—that is, has not risen—during the recession is partly a result of the fact that homelessness is a lagging indicator of society’s economic woes. For agencies providing homeless services, the recession may have yet to hit.

LPCS has begun to see this trend through an upswing in the number of people that are homeless for the first time (33%) and episodically (40%). In the past, higher education was thought to be a safety net against homelessness, but more than 50% of the guests we saw last year have attended or graduated from college. Several guests over the past year reported that they were foreclosed upon or last experienced homelessness several years ago, but were laid off and unable to find living-wage work quickly. Additionally, Chicago’s rental market is rising; although one out of four guests who moved in had an income, they were unable to afford housing.

Despite the reality check from the NEAH conference that our work is far from extinction, we realized that LPCS is on the cutting edge of programming in many ways. First, we work with agencies throughout the Chicago area to follow a “housing first” approach. Guests begin to work with case managers to identify
and sign up for housing opportunities from the day they move in—and often before. Community clients who join our waiting list meet with a case manager and are encouraged to begin working on goals right away. As a part of the Interim Housing Community, our case managers are working intensively with guests through an increasing average length of stay; although this results in fewer guests moving through our programs overall, it means that the work with those guests is deeper and successes are more likely to have a lasting impact:

• During their first few months of stay, guests are participating in a series of Daily Living Skills classes facilitated by volunteers, including financial management, healthy relationships, and time management.

• 94% of guests with a history of substance abuse are participating in peer support groups and those who relapse work with their case manager to form a new plan toward recovery. We are a leader in implementing harm reduction strategies where possible within our programs.

• One hundred percent of the guests who report mental health issues or chronic physical health problems are referred for and engage in ongoing treatment: 80% report that they have a better ability to cope with their illness since staying at LPCS. We are grateful for the partnerships that we have with Heartland Health Outreach and Northwestern Memorial Hospital to provide basic services on-site and with a neighbor
volunteer who provides twice-weekly nursing visits.

• 59% of guests pursuing employment participated in job training programs, although the job search will sometimes stretch for several months. During that waiting period, our amazing volunteers offer resume services, computer tutoring, mock interviews, and even individual coaches who have industry experience.
This longer stay and more intensive work with case managers is making an impact: over 70% of On Track Program participants found permanent housing. And after one year at least 66% of graduates remain housed.

Finally, we know that a contributing factor to this housing retention is a continued connection to LPCS. Approximately 2/3 of graduates continue to remain involved at LPCS, touching base with staff members on the trials and tribulations of their lives and participating in case management and referrals when needed. We have long believed in the power of community, and our Graduate Community is a demonstration of that. Many become involved as volunteers, and others join our new Graduate Council, offering feedback to program staff on new programming, planning events for current guests, and speaking to community groups about their experiences with homelessness and LPCS.

LPCS is looking forward to another year of community and collaboration with our neighbors, our volunteers, our supporters, our guests, and our graduates. Stay tuned for updates on ways you can be involved in our newest ventures via our e-newsletter and our print newsletter, Transitions.