City officials announced the provisional award of $40 million in capital improvement funding to modernize homeless shelter facilities throughout the city. The funding, part of the DFSS Shelter Infrastructure Initiative, supports the largest local shelter capital investment in Chicago’s history, building on $30 million in related investments by the Department of Housing, and reflects a citywide commitment to creating non-congregate, accessible, dignified, and trauma-informed shelter environments for people experiencing homelessness.
“This investment is the most significant step forward in the history of Chicago in our mission to make housing a human right in our city,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “When it comes to building a safe and affordable city, housing and shelter must be prioritized to stabilize our residents who are housing insecure or experiencing homelessness. With this historic investment, we are making our shelters more accessible, more dignified, and ultimately, more effective at helping Chicagoans in need.”
This funding will support major improvements to more than 750 permanent shelter beds in Chicago, increasing ADA accessibility, modernizing aging infrastructure and other major systems, and developing 350+ non-congregate beds so individuals and families have a private sleeping room and bathroom with secure storage space for their belongings. Research shows non-congregate shelters in Chicago and elsewhere improve health and housing outcomes for residents compared with congregate shelter settings…