This page shares information on our philosophy, service models, and the people we serve. We hope you will learn more and contact us with any questions.
Housing First
Emergency Services
- IDHS Homelessness Prevention
- Homelessness Prevention Guide
- Closing the Front Door
- The Three C’s of Diversion
- IDHS Housing Navigators
- COVID-19 Housing Response: Housing Navigation
- Street Outreach
- Medical Respite Care
- How Medical Respite Provides Support to People Experiencing Homelessness
- What is Rapid Rehousing?
- Rapid Rehousing Brief
Interim Housing Services
- COVID-19 Housing Response: Master Leasing (Bridge Housing)
- How Master Leasing (Bridge Housing) Can Help the Affordable Housing Crisis
Transitional Housing Services
- Transitional Housing
- Characteristics of Transitional Housing for Homeless Families
- HUD Life After Transitional Housing for Homeless Families
Supportive Housing Services
Children and Families
Transition Aged Youth
Older Adults
- Elderly Homelessness
- Building a Conversation: Aged Homelessness on the Rise
- 50 Safety Tips for Seniors
Domestic Violence Survivors
- Domestic Violence and Homelessness
- Safe Housing Partnership
- Impact of the Domestic Violence Housing First Model
Justice Involved Households
People With Health and Behavioral Health Conditions
For More
- Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent Homelessness
- United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
- HUD Policy Development and Research
- National Alliance to End Homelessness
- National Coalition for the Homeless
- National Health Care for the Homeless Council
- Undoing Structural Racism: The Need for Systemic Change in Housing Policy
The Beds Book Corner
BEDS Plus staff members recommend the following books. Check your local library.
Nonfiction
- The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler
- Another Bullsh## Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn
- Confronting Suburban Poverty in America by Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube
- Down and Out, on the Road: The Homeless in American History Revised Edition by Kenneth L. Kusmer
- Evicted by Matthew Desmond
- The Librarians Guide to Homelessness by Ryan Dowd
- One Nation, Underprivileged by Mark Robert
- Rachel and Her Children by Jonathan Kozol
- Tell Them Who I Am by Elliot Liebow
- Useless Eaters by Jim Lunsford
Young Adult and Children’s Books
- A Shelter in Our Car by Monica Gunning
- Changing Places: A Kids View of Shelter Living by Judy Wallace, Glen Finland and Margie Chalofsky
- Cooper’s Tale by Ralph de Costa Nunez
- The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
- Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting; Ronald Himler, Illustrator
- HOME by Micheal J. Rosen
- Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt (first book in a seven-part series known as the Tillerman Cycle)
- Lives Turned Upside Down: Homeless Children in Their Own Words and Photographs by Jim Hubbard
- Our Wish by Ralph de Costa Nunez
- Sailey’s Journey by Ralph de Costa Nunez
- Someplace to Go by Maria Testa
Library Kits
BEDS has partnered with the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library and Oak Lawn Public Library to create educational kits for children aged Pre-K to High School.
Find out more: Brookfield and Oak Lawn