The seeds of change are found in everyday experience. The stories of people who live in supportive housing can shed light on important issues, such as what it is like to experience homelessness or live with mental illness or a disability. Because of this, Housing Action Illinois partnered with the Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA) in 2019 for a series of workshops to help residents of permanent supportive housing explore telling stories to make a difference. Our thanks to the Illinois Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund for making this collaboration possible.

We facilitated half-day workshops in Mt. Vernon, Peoria, Rockford, Hillside, and Chicago during 2019. See below for a publication featuring stories by workshop participants.

We’re proud that some of our workshop participants are already speaking up about their experiences! Read The ‘Hidden’ Crisis of Rural Housing by The Nation‘s Jake Bittle and Struggling for Housing by WSIU’s Steph Whiteside to learn about Holly, Donna, and Darius.

A Place to Call Home

The stories in this publication grew out of our Storytelling for Change workshops, and we are grateful to everyone whose experiences are shared in these pages. Together, we can build a more understanding, compassionate world.

Facilitating a Storytelling Workshop with Residents

As part of our initiative with SHPA, we have created a guide for supportive housing practitioners who are interested in helping facilitate storytelling workshops with their residents. The guide is available online here.

Questions? Contact Kristin Ginger.