Blog

Registry week is underway in Chicago, with over 600 surveys completed and more expected as teams return throughout the day!  By Friday, we will have a by-name registry of people living on our streets and in shelters, enabling us to prioritize those who have been out there the longest and who are the most vulnerable.  More than 150 dedicated volunteers have given their time to make this possible.

This initiative is so exciting for us because it really embodies long-standing goals of our Plan to End Homelessness that we need to pursue so we can make the homeless experience feel different in Chicago. We talk a lot about “systems change,” but if the consumer doesn't notice the difference with getting improved services and a transparent access to housing, then we will have missed the point.

We have amazing outreach teams in Chicago, top notch housing providers, and a tight-knit homeless services community that has maintained a sense of shared goals and vision, even over the past ten years.  The 100,000 Homes Campaign Registry Week has been so amazing because we get to do this together, as a community, instead of awarding housing and services to one or two agencies to manage independently.  During registry week, we can mix up staff, meet new people, and engage the folks we regularly see on the street with the real hope of getting them more quickly into housing.  We are having new conversations about housing access, housing need, and really just taking time to reconnect with the people impacted by homelessness, which is the real driver for us all who participate in registry week or who do this for our day jobs!  It really sparks a passion.  It feels good to feel compassion and passion for others.

We are also paying new attention to the long-standing vestiges of homelessness in our community: shelters that have become default housing for large groups of people.  Shelter providers seek to provide a sense of community and safety, but by not reaching further, with an eye to housing, we are selling short the possibilities for hundreds of people who deserve a home.

What we learn together during this week will help us reduce chronic homelessness in Chicago.  You can learn more, and see more media on the initiative, on our website: http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/fss/provdrs/emerg/svcs/chicag....

You can see Mayor Daley's formal announcement of Chicago's participation in the 100,000 Homes Campaign here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feJ4BeadoAE.

Betsy Benito is the Projects Administrator for the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness at the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services.