Written by Damien Olivares
Courtesy of the Global Justice Series, representatives Charles Austin and Charles Jenkins of The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) recently visited campus. In their talk they discussed how for decades homeless residents of Chicago have struggled to access employment, training, and schooling. To combat the growing number of homeless Chicagoans, the Coalition has since 1980 frequently met with legislators to discuss ways to end homelessness.
Common misconceptions regard the homeless as addicts and middle aged, lazy, and undeserving. However according to the CCH’s website, unlivable wages, few resources, and a lack of affordable housing have resulted in over 100,000 homeless residents of Chicago, with students representing over 54,000. Recently, according to the representatives, the Coalition was able to convince state legislation to pass a bill that will, among many things, increase access to support services across the city for homeless youth.
CCH, whose mission is to end homelessness, has also successfully lobbied to pass laws which bar discrimination and criminalization based on a person’s housing status, increase funding to homeless shelters, and drop ordinances which have negatively impacted the homeless population. Most recently, however, CCH has been able to gain approval for the partial lifting of a long-standing ban on former criminals who wish to live in low-income housing. This program is, according to Coalition’s website, awaiting approval by the Chicago Housing Authority.
Jenkins and Austin also discussed their efforts to stimulate college admission among Chicago’s unhoused youth. Every summer since 2004 the Coalition hands out $2,000 worth of renewable college scholarships to youth who have experienced homelessness, totaling more than $150,000 over the course of the last 10 years. The CCH is entirely funded by foundations and private donors.
The representatives described their experiences with homelessness. The general public often assumes that individuals who become homeless do so as a result of drug addiction. Austin’s story, however, could not be more different. One day at work he fell into a pit that should have been covered up. He sustained extensive injuries and, therefore, could not work. His employer battled with the state over who was responsible for the accident. In the meantime, Austin was unable to work. As a result, he and his wife lost their apartment and subsequently became homeless. Similar stories abound.
CCH welcomes college interns and volunteers. Austin and Jenkins encouraged students of Concordia to join other universities and colleges in the effort to end homeless by starting a Core Team. As a core team, students come together to contact state legislators, assist the homeless in getting to local homeless shelters, and provide basic resources, such as toiletries, to those without housing.
