Homelessness

Who are the homeless?

People who are homeless are generally categorized into three groups:

  • Episodic:

    These are individuals and families who go in and out of shelters. They tend to be younger, leave shelters when they get income, or use shelters seasonally.

  • Transitional:

    These tend to be individuals and families who become homeless due to a housing, health care or other financial crisis. They come into the shelter system and remain there about three months, and often do not become homeless again.

  • Chronic:

    These individuals and families have been homeless for a year or more, or four times in the last three years. Many of these people use the shelter system for extended periods of time and are thought to consume 50 percent or more of total shelter days.

In addition to the three categories listed above, there are a number of homeless sub-populations who face special circumstances in escaping homelessness. These include:

  • People suffering from severe mental or physical illness or chronic substance abuse.
  • Households experiencing domestic violence.
  • Ex-offenders or people released from institutions with no place to go.
  • Youth who have been thrown out of their houses because they are lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender or are pregnant, or have left because there is abuse.
  • Immigrants/undocumented individuals who can't find work or housing because of lack of documentation, language and cultural barriers.
  • Veterans, including individuals suffering from post traumatic stress disorders.

The above information on homelessness is from the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.

Key Facts of Homelessness

  • According to a December 2006 estimate by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the UIC Survey Research Lab, there were 73,656 people who
    experienced homelessness in the course of a year and 21,078 on a given
    night.  With the worsening economy more and more individual and families are facing economic hardship. 
  • The homeless system has traditionally been organized to manage homelessness and not prevent it.   We and other agencies are focusing more on prevention by working with individuals and families to find affordable housing, jobs, financial counseling among other services. 
  • Many people and agencies do not consider “doubling up” as being homeless.  “Doubling up” is when there is more than one family living in a house due to financial or housing crisis.  They have usually lost their housing and gone to stay with family or friends.  These families are at risk of their situation worsening from what it already is.  Doubling up is a living situation that is rapidly becoming more and more common.  

Latino Homelessness

  • In 2008, 58% of the clients we served at Humboldt Park Social Services were Latino. 
  • Latinos spend 59% of their income on rent vs. other communities who spend a lower percent of their income on rent. 
  • 30% of Latino households in the region are “linguistically isolated.”
  • 17% of all Latinos were at or below the poverty level in 2006.  . 
  • Some economic barriers Latinos face are:
  • Presence of undocumented immigration within the household
  • Language barrier
  • Cultural competency (fear and shame; access to kinship networks primarily)
  • They often live in overcrowded conditions (doubling up) before resorting to the homeless services system, tending to be underrepresented in counts of homeless people on the street or in shelters.  Nationally, 26% of Latino households are classified as crowded compared to 8% of black and 4% of white households
  • Disconnect to public assistance/entitlement programs
  • Population least represented in accessing public safety net of resources.
  • Despite having the highest workforce participation rate, Latinos are employed in some of the U.S.’s lowest-quality jobs and since the recession has begun, they have experienced the largest increase in unemployment of any group.    

Sources of Latino Homelessness information: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Sruvey, 2006, Latino Landscape 2009, Institute for Latino Studies; Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, National Council of La Raza.

Hunger

Hunger in Cook County

Close to 500,000 people each year rely on emergency and supplemental food provided by the Food Depository and its member network of almost 600 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. That figure represents a significant increase over previous studies conducted by the Food Depository and reflects census trends of poverty in Cook County. Growing numbers of Cook County residents are relying on agencies for stop-gap food assistance.

The Face of Hunger

39% of the households who receive food from the The Greater Chicago Food Depository include at least 1employed adult. Meanwhile, about 33% of the people the Food Depository serves are children under 18.

  • 10% of study respondents were 65 and older
  • 25% of households served have at least one family member in poor health
  • 22% of clients surveyed live in the suburbs
  • 10% own the place where they live
  • 9% of clients are homeless

Although assistance helps ends meet, being forced to make hard choices can lead to hunger.

  • 41% of clients said they had to choose between paying for food and utilities or heating fuel
  • 31% reported choosing between paying for food and rent or mortgage
  • 26% of clients said they had to choose between food and paying for medicine or healthcare
  • 32% of clients with children said their children skipped meals during the previous year
  • 26% of adult clients said they didn’t eat for an entire day at least once during the last year
  • 81% of households reported a situation during the last year where the food they bought "just didn't last and they didn't have money to get more"

The above information on hunger was gathered from Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Return to top