Popular on TelAve


Similar on TelAve

Chicago: ICYMI: 100% Of Gompers Park Housing Event Attendees Move Forward With Long-Term Housing Process

TelAve News/10856323
CHICAGO – The Johnson Administration is proud to announce that all of the attendees of Wednesday's Accelerated Moving Event (AME) at Gompers Park have been enrolled with a housing provider and are moving forward in the process of securing stable, long-term housing. The Accelerated Moving Event aided 27 individuals, including two couples, on their path to permanent housing.

Mayor Johnson believes that housing should be a human right and that the solution to homelessness is housing. Mayor Johnson has expanded City funding for Rapid Re-housing (RRH) from $2.8M in 2020 to $24M in 2025 to support Chicagoans experiencing homelessness.

AMEs offer encampment residents the opportunity to virtually tour available apartment units and select one; receive support in completing housing applications; and be connected with furniture options for their new apartment. Those opting to move forward partner with a case manager who supports them throughout their move-in process and beyond.

Through weekly on-the-ground outreach initiatives each Monday through Thursday at Gompers Park leading up to the AME, DFSS established connections with encampment residents and regular visitors to the encampment who are consistently engaged with offers of shelter.

Accelerated Moving Events have a successful track record of connecting individuals experiencing homelessness to housing. An August 2023 audit of DFSS outreach to encampments by the Office of the Inspector General found that 94% of encampment residents who attended an AME secured housing and 83% retained their housing.

Mayor Johnson expresses his heartfelt appreciation for the outreach workers, community partners, Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto, and Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) staff who made this event a success and who helped Chicagoans on their journey to housing stability.

See coverage of the housing event below:

Chicago Tribune: City begins rehousing efforts for Gompers Park homeless encampment residents [Rebecca Johnson, March 6, 2025]

More on TelAve News
City officials began the painstaking process Wednesday of finding apartments for about 30 people living at a contentious Gompers Park homeless encampment. For Calixto Rodriguez, a resident who clutched a postcard listing available resources, it was a welcome plan.

"I want to get a place where I can rest, sleep, take a shower," he said.

Others are hopeful as well after the city hosted an "accelerated moving event" for about five hours Wednesday for residents of the Northwest Side encampment, a site that has led to heated debates over safety and whether the city should clear it out.

Residents met individually with caseworkers and ate a meal. They virtually toured available apartment units, completed housing applications, could potentially meet with landlords, and chose furniture options for their new apartment, according to Maura McCauley, acting commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services.

Block Club Chicago: City Begins Housing Residents Of Gompers Park Encampment After Contentious Process [Molly DeVore and Rachel Hinton, March 7, 2025]

After 15 years of living in parks and under bridges, Amanda Hernandez got one step closer to finding stable housing on Wednesday.

Hernandez was one of 29 Gompers Park encampment residents who signed up for an Accelerated Moving Event, or AME, coordinated by the city. The AME, which connects people who are homeless with housing units and rental assistance, followed months of tensions at the park.

WBEZ: The Rundown for Thursday, March 6 [March 6, 2025]

Host: Thirty unhoused people who have called the Northwest Side home were connected yesterday with housing at an AME. This is an Accelerated Moving Event. A similar event was held at Humboldt Park on Chicago's West Side in September. Department of Family and Support Services Commissioner Maura McCauley says nobody will be forced out, and daily engagement efforts will continue.

More on TelAve News
McCauley: Our outreach partners are working in communities every day with unhoused residents, like in Gompers Park, helping them meet some of their basic needs, understanding their histories, and what they're looking for.

ABC7: Dozens living in Gompers Park view apartments as part of Chicago 'Accelerated Moving Event' [Stephanie Wade and Jasmine Minor, March 5, 2025]

Alderman Samantha Nugent, who represents the 39th Ward, called the event Wednesday "a positive step in finding permanent housing for the residents of the encampment and connecting them with wrap-around services."

WGN9: Nearly 30 at Gompers Park homeless encampment enroll with housing providers [Julian Crews and BJ Lutz, March 5, 2025]

More than two dozen people who'd been living in a homeless encampment at Gompers Park on the city's northwest side are proceeding with the process to find stable housing after a Wednesday outreach effort, a city spokesperson said.

NBC5: Some former Gompers Park encampment residents move into permanent housing [Lexi Sutter, March 5, 2025]

Outreach teams ushered those living in these cold, damp tents into a nearby building where they could review permanent housing options.

Fox32: 'Accelerated Moving Event' unfolds at Gompers Park encampment, housing assistance offered [Kasey Chronis, March 5, 2025]

The City of Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) hosted an "Accelerated Moving Event" in partnership with All Chicago on Wednesday to quickly connect unhoused individuals with shelter and other services.

CBS2: Residents of homeless encampment at Chicago's Gompers Park offered long-term housing [March 4, 2025]

Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services is working to get people out of a homeless encampment and into long-term housing, holding an accelerated moving event tomorrow at Gompers Park.

Filed Under: Government, City
Show All News | Report Violation

0 Comments

Latest on TelAve News