Rent and utility assistance is available for Chicago residents at risk of losing their housing. People seeking financial assistance should call 3-1-1 and ask for “Short-Term Help” to be referred to the Homelessness Prevention Call Center.
Chicago, IL –(ENEWSPF)–March 27, 2017. The State Homeless Prevention Fund, a fund of approximately $1 million, has been made available through June 30 to Chicago residents at risk of losing their homes.
All Chicago administers the fund provided by the State of Illinois, which seeks to stabilize people in their current homes, decrease the amount of time spent in homeless shelters, and help people secure and maintain affordable housing.
Funds up to $1,500 may be available to any individual or household experiencing a temporary economic crisis and can be received once in a twenty-four month period. The funds can be used for rent, security deposits, mortgages, or utilities.
To be eligible for assistance, people must be residents within Chicago’s city limits and must be in imminent danger of eviction, foreclosure, or homelessness, or already homeless. People must also provide paperwork that documents their temporary economic crisis. Eligible crises may include job loss, medical disability or emergency, loss or delay of public benefit, natural disaster, and other comparable hardships.
People seeking assistance should call 3-1-1 and ask for “Short-Term Help” to be screened for eligibility by the Homelessness Prevention Call Center run by Catholic Charities.
State funding for homelessness prevention programs has been in limbo since 2015, due to the state budget impasse, but is now flowing until June 30.
Households receiving emergency financial assistance of approximately $1,000 are 76% less likely to become homeless, proved a 2016 study conducted by the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and All Chicago. This groundbreaking study, published in the Journal of Science, was the first time the impact of emergency financial assistance on homelessness has been rigorously measured. Preventing people from becoming homeless with a minimal investment averaging $1,000 saves more than $20,000 per person, per year, in taxpayer funds needed to support a person seeking services through homeless shelters.
About All Chicago: All Chicago prevents and ends homelessness through three signature programs. Our Emergency Fund program collaborates with 28 agencies to provide more than $3 million in financial assistance to more than 3,500 people experiencing an emergency, including a particular focus on college students and veterans. Our Chicago Alliance program partners with 50 agencies to implement city-wide, data-driven strategies to designed to achieve the common vision of a city where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. Our Learning Center program equips the housing and homeless services community with tools and information to be even more effective through our trainings, workshops, research and publications. Learn more at allchicago.org.
Source: http://allchicago.org
