Mission
"Interfaith Council for the Homeless ends homelessness for families
and individuals by offering hope, help and housing. ICH provides
permanent housing, education, advocacy, and social services."
Also check out our ICH VISION 2010.
History
1984 Interfaith Council for the Homeless (ICH) was organized to work collaboratively within the Jewish, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Unitarian Universalist communities to forge a united response against homelessness in Chicago. Interfaith Council was formed to serve as a link in matching the resources of the faith communities of Chicago to the needs of men, women and children who are homeless.
1986 Interfaith Council began, through a collaborative program with Chicago's Department of Human Services, providing emergency shelter through the Warming Center program. Over a three year period the Warming Center program grew four fold into the largest emergency shelter program in Chicago, offering 1,300 beds of shelter each night.
1989 In response to the increasing number of homeless women and children entering the emergency shelter system the Warming Center program responded by welcoming families. By year end, three new transitional shelters, exclusively for women and children, were created. The level of services and management made the Warming Center Program a national model of religious, civil and governmental collaboration. This program provided emergency shelter and meals throughout Chicago offering 1,165 shelter beds and serving 2,080 meals per day. Annually, the Warming Center Program provided 208,670 nights of shelter to 22,230 unduplicated homeless persons. Although Interfaith Council is not acting as the fiscal agent for the Warming Center Program, we continue to collaborate with emergency shelters in providing direct services to the shelter sites. An Education/Advocacy Coordinator was added to the staff to facilitate the educational and advocacy goals of the Council. An education and advocacy agenda was established to address the systemic causes of homelessness.
1991 Unaffordable housing pushes many people into homelessness. Interfaith Housing Development Corporation of Chicago was organized to focus its work toward providing housing for those persons with very low incomes. Also, that same year, out of a concern for the unmet health care needs of homeless people, a health care program was developed by Interfaith Council. Through a collaborative effort with local medical schools, hospitals, and medical students, five health care clinics were established.
1994 Growing out of this involvement in health care issues, Interfaith House was established as a respite care facility for homeless persons who needed a period of recovery from a debilitating injury or illness upon release from the hospital. As Interfaith Housing Development Corporation and Interfaith House's programs matured, these programs became separate organizations. Interfaith House and Interfaith Housing Development Corporation of Chicago are recognized as two of the most successful programs addressing homelessness in Chicago and throughout the country. Today, Interfaith Housing Development Corporation of Chicago, Interfaith Council for the Homeless, and Interfaith House work cooperatively, building a collaborative network to address the homeless/unaffordable housing crisis.
1998 Interfaith Council successfully established three new programs: a shelter based program offering mental health support services. The Shelter Graduates' Network served 1,970 individuals. Interfaith Council developed a nutritional program that supplies $30,000 annually in funds to 23 shelters allowing them to purchase food and enhance their nutritional programs provided residents. The Shelter Partnering Network was built, providing linkages from the faith communities to shelters throughout Chicago. This Network provides volunteers and resources to meet the growing demands of homelessness. As welfare-reform takes a deeper hold, Interfaith Council is strengthening its programs to meet the acute needs of men, women and children who are homeless.
1999 The Shelter Graduates' Network expands to provide a comprehensive outreach program of mental health, drug addiction assessment and referrals and individualized case management. This Network provides critical on-site, community based support services to shelter residents, expanding the shelters' continuum of care. This multidisciplinary team is dispatched to 10 shelters where a comprehensive program of individualized case management, mental health support groups and drug referrals works to move shelter residents to a more stable living environment
2001 The Shelter Graduates' Network expands to include child behavioral specialist and three additional case managers. Also in July Interfaith Council was awarded a contract from Chicago's Department of Human Services to be the coordinating service provider in all the family shelters within the city's operation
2002 Interfaith Council for the Homeless begins working within the Housing First Initiative. Interfaith cultivated clients out of the Emergency Shelter System for transition into independent housing. These clients are assisted with case management and workshops to equip them with the skills necessary to manage independent housing.
2003 Interfaith Council for the Homeless moves into Sanctuary Place, a supportive housing community development providing permanent, independent, affordable housing for women and families with disabilities who are homeless. This venture is a collaboration between Interfaith Council for the Homeless and Interfaith Housing Development Corporation. An interdisciplinary team of specialist will be on site to wrap services around the housing population.
Together, we can break the cycle of homelessness.
