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CCH recently joined 126 other Illinois organizations on an open letter urging Illinois congressmen to protect federal nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs (NSLP).

A related letter, signed by 139 groups, was sent Feb. 13 to Gov. Bruce Rauner.

These nutrition programs reduce hunger and poverty, improve health and learning among children, boost productivity, and create jobs and economic growth. They provided critical assistance to 1 in 7 people, or 1,914,000 Illinoisans, in fiscal year 2016, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). They include children, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and low- paid workers. In Illinois, about 65% of SNAP recipients are families with children and 41% are working families, per CBPP.

Continue reading CCH joins groups in opposing cutbacks to federal nutrition programs

CCH is proud to be an affiliate charity for the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 8. We have recruited 13 runners to our Team to End Homelessness this year, and are still recruiting runners who obtained entry through the drawing.

Each of our runners will raise at least $1,000 from friends and family online in conjunction with their race training. You can donate in honor of our team here.  Continue reading 2017 Chicago Marathon Team to End Homelessness

CCH is no stranger to the power of music.  For more than 20 years we staged the annual benefit concert Hopefest, while our partnership with Riot Fest’s three-day music festival raised almost $150,000 in five years.

This winter, generous people staged new music fundraisers for CCH, raising a collective $7,869 in support our work:

·        Dave Specter of Evanston’s SPACE started off December with a moving tribute concert to the late Otis Clay, himself a generous past benefactor for the homeless.  A multitude of talented musicians recorded a gospel track, “Walk A Mile In My Shoes” which can be downloaded HERE.  All proceeds benefit CCH.  Continue reading Our thanks to the talented musicians who supported CCH at winter shows

January 25

We’re glad Governor Rauner recognizes that our failure to pass a budget for a year and a half has hurt the most vulnerable people in our state. Unfortunately, he failed to acknowledge an important fact – an adequate budget for this year and next requires new revenue now. Future growth does not fix our current crumbling infrastructure or attend to the needs of the thousands of Illinoisans experiencing homelessness.

We hope when Governor Rauner introduces his budget, he stops being silent on the real revenue needs of Illinois and includes new, immediate, sustainable revenue in his blueprint, so homeless families, youth and adults in Illinois have the opportunities they deserve to achieve their full potential.”

– Doug Schenkelberg, Executive Director, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

Homeless people with whom our staff offers outreach were greatly helped this winter by the annual generosity of two companies, Blistex and Zumiez.

Each year since 2005, outerwear retailer Zumiez has shipped more than 40 boxes of coats, hoodies and blankets for distribution by our staff in Chicago shelters.  Continue reading Big thanks to Zumiez and Blistex!

CCH’s State Network, active in 11 suburbs and downstate communities, is launching a State Organizing Committee to steer its work in Illinois. Active for five years, the coalition’s statewide organizing network mobilizes more than 1,700 people a year on issues that impact homeless families, youth and adults in Illinois.

Staffed by Jim Picchetti, a senior community organizer at CCH, the new steering group will connect providers and churches from different parts of Illinois to share how homelessness is uniquely impacting their communities. They will also identify laws or practices that harm homeless and at-risk families in their community, and develop strategies that make addressing homelessness a priority in Springfield.

This work is critical, as Illinois struggles without a state budget and we face a conservative national platform on housing and poverty issues under the incoming Trump administration.  Continue reading CCH’s State Network launches organizing committee