Eight years of hard work, long hours, and countless SOS calls culminated today in the opening of Humboldt Park Social Services’ (HPSS) new interim-housing facility for men. Deborah McCoy, HPSS Board President, cut the ribbon for this new 22-bed facility that will allow homeless men to transition from emergency shelter to interim housing.

During an impassioned speech, Delia Ramirez, HPSS Executive Director, explained that this new model is critically important. Emergency facilities only provide extremely temporary shelter – often no more than one night, given intense demand. Interim housing, on the other hand, provides several months of shelter along with the wraparound services essential to a successful transition from homelessness to permanent housing and independent living.

Through its Center for Changing Lives and Center for Working Families, HPSS will offer such wraparound services as housing placement, housing relocation, housing counseling, and employment preparation to men housed within the facility. They will also offer job training to interim-housing residents through their soup kitchen, which feeds 100 people daily.

First Ward Alderman Joe Moreno, former HPSS Board member, and 35^th Ward Alderman Rey Colon heralded the opening as a deeply needed service to the community. Moreno explained that HPSS doesn’t simply dream good ideas; they put them in motion, always with an eye toward “pragmatic solutions.” Colon asserted the importance of developing strategies for residents “at their most vulnerable time.”

Debra Janiszewski, Director of the Homeless Division of the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, explained that HPSS’s model is unique, because it is about “more than a bed, more than a meal.” She went on to explain, “The beds are important, the meals are important . . . but this [interim housing opportunity] will be a path to the longer term.”

As a volunteer for the project, Dan Splaingard, Rose Architectural Fellow for Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, designed and helped build the custom bunk beds for the space that will serve as the sleeping area. He explained, “We were trying to make something that, while utilitarian, was trying to give a bit of an uplift . . . a quality of the handmade with colors that will imbue a sense of home.”

James, one of the inaugural residents of the facility, seemed to agree. The university graduate had always held a job, but suddenly found himself unemployed, then homeless, several months ago. He expressed gratitude for the services provided by HPSS, asserting, “We need more like them” in the community.

The facility, funded primarily by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (with additional support from the Chicago Community Trust and other funders), will operate from HPSS headquarters within the Humboldt Park United Methodist Church. Due to capacity issues, eligibility is restricted to men without children or physical disabilities, though HPSS provides referral services to those in need of such options.

Individuals seeking interim housing or other services (or agencies looking to refer such individuals) may do so by visiting the Center for Changing Lives, 3051 W. Armitage, between the hours of 10am and 6pm.