During the 2020 Point-in-Time (PIT) count, using the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition of homelessness, the city of Chicago recorded more than 5,000 individuals experiencing homelessness, a 2% increase from 2019. 1 Cumulatively, more than 36,000 residents accessed shelter-based homeless services in Chicago in 2020.2 Although the long-term solution to homelessness is permanent housing, shelters serve a crucial role in meeting the immediate needs of thousands of people experiencing homelessness. Despite this, the infrastructure and capital improvement needs of shelters are often neglected and underfunded.
A 2020 survey conducted by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) found a majority of shelters indicating that they have varying levels of capital improvement needs. These needs include, but are not limited to, modernizing current infrastructure (such as plumbing and electrical), meeting the city’s basic fire and safely requirements, and transitioning to a non-congregate setting. However, when DFSS inquired further into these infrastructure projects, many shelters did not have the documents or proper estimates necessary to summarize what would be needed to address their concerns.
Therefore, DFSS should create a Shelter Capital Needs Assessment Repository to document and quantify homeless shelter’s capital improvement needs for when funding becomes available for such projects. Additionally, DFSS could use this repository to advocate for increased funding to support these needs and to analyze the distribution of funding to work towards increased equity amongst shelters in Chicago.
In order to establish Shelter Capital Needs Assessment Repository, DFSS should begin by partnering with local contractors who have pre-existing relationships with shelters in order to survey facilities, interview shelter leadership, and record capital improvement needs and fiscal estimates across all shelters in Chicago. The results of this assessment would then be categorized and kept in an online running repository. Once this initial assessment is completed, subsequent assessments would happen on a five-year basis, with shelters able to fill out online surveys for any projects that arise between assessments to be added to the repository.
This repository would then be made accessible to private and public agencies for any funders interested in infrastructure projects to access and engage with. Once the repository has been created, the Mayor’s Office should engage in marketing efforts to ensure that potential funders, shelter and city employees, and community members are aware of the repository.
City of Chicago
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