HUMBOLDT PARK — City officials and community members hope to turn an occupied apartment complex into transitional housing for youth experiencing homelessness in Humboldt Park.
La Casa Norte, in partnership with the city’s departments of housing and family and support services and the Illinois Department of Human Services, wants to take over the North Hotel apartments at 1622 N. California Ave. to operate a non-congregate shelter that would house 35-45 people ages 18-24.
The proposal is one of five grantees of the Department of Housing’s Non-Congregate Shelter Acquisition Program, which launched in 2022 to address homelessness in Chicago’s neighborhoods and generate an equitable recovery from the pandemic. Two of the five proposed shelters will house youth, housing department officials said.
The Humboldt Park shelter, Rise for Chicago Youth, will provide a safe path forward for homeless young people via educational and social services, officials said at a Wednesday community meeting hosted by Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) at La Casa Norte, 3533 W. North Ave.
“La Casa Norte is an institution that has a proven track record of doing good work by our young people, some of the most vulnerable young people in the city of Chicago,” Fuentes told attendees. “We want to put a project in the 26th Ward that ensures young people are affirmed, they’re dignified and cared for.”
Chicago Public Schools estimated there were 576 youth experiencing homelessness or living in temporary situations in the 26th Ward during the 2022-2023 school year, according to CPS data shared at the meeting.
The shelter would serve primarily young people in the neighborhood but would be open to whomever needs it for 120 days, though that could be extended on an individual basis, project leaders said.
The shelter would have 24/7 staff equipped to help youth find permanent housing, assist with educational needs, offer trauma-informed care and violence prevention techniques, and access health and nutritional services, officials shared in a presentation.
The shelter model would be akin to La Casa Norte’s other emergency youth shelters in Logan Square and Back of the Yards, which collectively logged over 3,000 overnight stays among Chicagoans ages 18-24 in 2022, said Executive Director Jose M. Muñoz.
“Rise for Chicago Youth is really reimagining and innovating the shelter ecosystem for Chicago youth because we believe that by doing this, it’s not just going to be serving the youth in the Humboldt Park community, but can be a model for other states,” Muñoz said.
After looking for a program location for over a year, La Casa Norte leaders settled on the North Hotel apartment building, which has been for sale since December 2022 for about $4.4 million. It has 39 studio apartments, and project leaders want to add two fully ADA-accessible units, Muñoz said.
The Rise for Chicago Youth shelter model, which provides more space for people staying there, has proven to be an innovative and successful way to address youth homelessness, project and city officials said.
Research by the Department of Housing found that stays at congregate shelters inside hotels during the pandemic led to higher rates of engagement with service providers, fewer 911 calls and less spread of disease, as well as reduced interpersonal conflict and improved feelings of optimism and future endeavors among people staying at the shelters, said Meredith Muir, Chicago Recovery Plan program manager at the housing department.
“Most importantly, [there was] a higher rate of move to permanent housing, so this is a model that we want to continue to put forward here at the city,” Muir said.
In contrast, over one-fourth of the roughly 3,304 existing city-run shelter population was in highly congregated spaces before the pandemic, meaning 20 people or more were in a single room with shared bathrooms, which Muir said is unhealthy and unsafe.
The proposed shelter would be funded through the Chicago Recovery Plan, and staffing and programs would be funded by La Casa Norte.
La Casa Norte officials have not yet bought the building, but they could move forward with the sale and begin interior renovations if they receive a special-use permit to operate the shelter, Muñoz said.
As part of the plan, people living in the North Hotel apartments would need to find new homes. Officials at the meeting said they are committed to helping those residents find apartments in the area.
“We will be working with the owners and with the city to make sure that no one is disrupted … and that there’s a smooth transition,” Fuentes said.
The shelter could open next year if all goes according to plan, officials said.
La Casa Norte is one of the largest local organizations that provides transitional and permanent housing to youth and families experiencing homelessness, serving nearly 20,000 people in 2022 and 2023, Muñoz said. In 2022, the organization housed nearly 7,000 people, made 10,000 meals and processed 1,147 rental assistance applications, officials said at the meeting.
Fuentes and city leaders said it was important to choose an operator that has been known to make a difference in the community and offer individualized wraparound services to youth.
“When we look at the future of our city, we look at the future of our community,” Muñoz said said. “We know that if we do not invest in youth, that if we don’t take the time to not only house youth but provide them with the support services, we’re not going to thrive as a city.”
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