BEDS Plus recently sat down with Katie Spoden of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County. Katie is the Continuum of Care Planning Director for the agency. BEDS: Katie can you describe your position? Katie: My job includes implementing community-wide plans to prevent and end homelessness; planning for […]
The connection between mental health and homelessness
This May, BEDS observes Mental Health Awareness Month. Sponsored by Mental Health America since 1949, the month seeks to raise awareness of mental health and its treatment. This year’s theme is Back to Basics, which recognizes how the pandemic and its restrictions affected our collective mental health and shares information […]
For Women’s History Month, Remember Women Experiencing Homelessness
March marks Women’s History Month. The National Women’s History Alliance set this year’s theme of “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” which pays “tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also [recognizes] the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided […]
Diversion as an approach to homelessness
Hi everyone. I’m Joann Boblick, Manager of Stabilization Services. That encompasses a lot, but I basically help people who are struggling to remain in their homes stay in them. I want to talk about one of the new ways we do this: a strategy known as Diversion. Cook County has […]
The past two years have changed all our lives
The past two years have changed all our lives. For some the loss went beyond jobs or the freedom to shop without a mask. For these two families, they lost precious family members and nearly lost their housing as a result. Tameisha lost her son in 2020 to COVID-19. I […]
BEDS Will Help Lead Regional Point in Time (PIT) Count of People Experiencing Homelessness
Every year, government, nonprofit, and media outlets reference a grand total of people experiencing homelessness (in 2020, for example, the figure that appeared was “roughly 580,000”). If you read closely, you’ll see the information introduced in an odd way, “on a single night January” versus “last year,” “each year,” etc. […]
Annual Legislative Meeting Brings Together Suburban Homeless Organizations
The Association of Homeless Advocates in the North/Northwest District recently held its annual legislative breakfast. Representatives from AHAND’s 30 member organizations, other homeless service agencies and those with histories of homelessness shared their priorities and experiences with area legislators who were in attendance. Katie Spoden of the Alliance to End […]
People Experiencing Homelessness Twice as Likely to Be Reinfected with COVID-19 Compared to their Housed Peers
Boston Medical Center researchers found that people experiencing homelessness and imminent risk of homelessness who have had COVID-19 are twice as likely to be reinfected than their housed peers regardless of age, gender, and comorbidities (other health or behavioral health conditions). Findings come atop earlier studies that demonstrated people experiencing homelessness […]
Undoing Structural Racism in Housing
BEDS clients mainly come from five townships: Berwyn, Lyons, Proviso, Stickney, and Worth. Twelve percent of their combined population is Black; forty-four percent of our clients from these areas are Black. This is not an accident. Systemic racism has long denied Black people access to housing and creates the stark […]
BEDS Special Bulletin: The Continuing Eviction Crisis and its Economic Consequences
Today, we’d like to share updates about federal and state eviction moratoria. Eviction Moratoriums Extended On June 24, the Biden administration extended the CDC’s eviction moratorium until July 31, and, on June 25, J.B. Pritzker extended Illinois’ moratorium until July 24. As the pandemic continues, these moratoria are preventing a […]
