Ending Homelessness
People become homeless for many different reasons. Contributing factors range from a loss of employment and other economic crises to domestic violence, family conflict, and serious behavioral health conditions. Whatever the causes, everyone experiencing homelessness has one thing in common: the lack of a home.
More people than commonly realized, particularly youth, experience homelessness at least once during their life. For people with the most serious problems, such as severe mental illness or substance addictions, homelessness can be a long-term, even chronic, way of life. A recent estimate suggests about one-quarter of all people experiencing homelessness can be defined as chronically homeless.
To end homelessness, we need to create a society where everyone has access to affordable housing. Securing housing, particularly permanent supportive housing for people with a history of chronic homelessness, provides a stable base from which individuals and families can address other issues that have contributed to and been intensified by homelessness.
How Many People Are Homeless In Illinois?
This is one of the most frequently cited numbers. It comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2022 Annual Homeless Assesment Report to Congress. In 2022, this count found 9,212 Illinoisans experiencing homelessness, using this narrow definition.
People at risk of homelessness include people in renter households who are poor and have a severe housing cost burden. In 2018, there were 138,471 households in this situation.
A broader definition of homelessness includes people who are doubled up due to poverty. In 2016, based on U.S. Census data, 164,969 people in this income category in Illinois were doubled up.
Within this broad definition of homelessness, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are 68,440 Chicagoans experiencing homelessness in any form, as of 2021.
Lived Experiences of Homelessness
As part of our Storytelling for Change workshops, we collected stories from people with lived experiences of homelessness in our publication “A Place to Call Home”. We are grateful to everyone whose experiences are shared in these pages. Together, we can build a more understanding, compassionate world.
What is a Continuum of Care (CoC)?
A term you will run into often if you’re reading about or working in homelessness is Continuum of Care, abbreviated as CoC. Continuums of Care are the local planning bodies that coordinate housing and services funding for families and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Illinois has 19 CoCs. See the map below for the counties they cover.
Why Racial Justice Matters
Because of historic structural and systemic discrimination in many areas of basic life, such as housing, education, and employment, racial disparities are pronounced among people experiencing homelessness. For example, in FY 2019, 56% of adults and 69% of children served by state-funded homeless shelters and transitional housing programs in Illinois were African American.
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What Have We Been Doing?
- The final state budget for fiscal year 2024 included a new $200.3 million Home Illinois line item, which made historic increased investments in preventing and ending homelessness. This funding includes record increases for the Emergency and Transitional Housing (ETH) Program ($40.7 million) and the Homeless Prevention Program ($10.8 million).
- Housing Action Illinois coordinates monthly conversations among the 19 Illinois Continuums of Care, the local planning bodies that coordinate housing and services funding for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. We help service providers share latest updates, discuss best practices, and collaborate.
- As efforts to address housing instability and provide COVID-19 relief continue, Housing Action Illinois is partnering with allies to advocate for policies and resources that prevent homelessness and create affordable housing. The most recent state budget included funding to assist people experiencing homelessness secure housing; in 2022, we are advocating to continue this funding and for new funding to create and operate non-congregate emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness. Learn more about our policy advocacy »
- At the end of 2021, we submitted recommendations for a new state plan to reach a functional zero for homelessness and will work to have them adopted and implemented in 2022. Our recommendations included better using existing data for program planning purposes, developing strategies to reduce the number of people turned away from state funded homeless shelters, and increasing the number of affordable rental homes funded that are affordable to extremely low-income households, including permanent supportive housing.
- In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Housing Action regranted $485,000 in relief funds to 30 direct service organizations throughout Illinois that are working to support individuals facing housing instability. Learn more »
- In each year’s state budget, we advocate for more resources for state programs that end homelessness and create affordable housing. The fiscal year 2018 state budget included a nearly $1 million increase to the Homeless Prevention Program, which kept more than 1,200 families housed. The fiscal year 2019 budget, signed into law in June 2018, included a well-deserved $1 million increase for the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program, resulting in total funding of more than $10 million.
Looking Back
- We brought attention to the state budget impasse’s impact on homeless service providers and our communities during 2015 – 2017. We also worked with the Responsible Budget Coalition to successfully make the case that Illinois’ budget problems should be solved by increasing revenue in a fair manner rather than with more budget cuts.
- We advocated for the creation of the state Homeless Prevention Program, a highly effective program that has prevented more than 110,000 households from becoming homeless since 2000 through small financial grants (primarily to pay past due rent or utility bills).