Learn About Homelessness

General

Alliance to End Homelessness in Cook County – Strategic Plan (2019-22)
The Center for Evidence Based Solutions to Homelessness
HUD Policy Development and Research
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
State of Rental Housing in Cook County
Understanding Homelessness
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

 

COVID-19 and Homelessness
Fact Sheet: Population At-Risk – Homelessness and the COVID-19 Crisis
Resources: Coronavirus and Homelessness
Homelessness & COVID-19: Considerations and Action Steps
Northwestern Child-life Specialist Shares Tips for Parents During COVID-19 Pandemic
How to Answer 7 Big Questions Kids Have About the Coronavirus Pandemic
There is a Coronavirus Coloring Book Designed to Help Children Cope with the Pandemic
Download the coloring book

Children who experience homelessness face unique issues and challenges.
Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Children and Families
Kids Count Data Book
The Florida Project (video)

 

Domestic violence is a primary cause of homelessness for women.
Domestic Violence and Homelessness
Domestic Violence and Homelessness:  Statistics
Safe Housing Partnership

 

Emergency Overnight Shelters provide relief from the elements and meals, meet basic needs, and connect guests with case management.
Emergency Shelter Learning Series
IDHS Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing

 

Health issues can be both the cause of homelessness and the result of an unstable living situation.
Homelessness & Health: What’s the Connection?
Health and Homelessness
Homeless Health Concerns
Homelessness and Mental Illness:  A challenge to our society
Mental Health and Homelessness
250,000 Mentally Ill are Homeless. 140,000 Seriously Mentally Ill are Homeless

 

Homelessness Diversion helps homeless individuals identify alternatives to staying in a shelter if they are available.
The Three C’s of Diversion
Closing the Front Door
Extending Our Success with Diversion to Help Families
30th Anniversary “Out of Reach” Report
Opportunity Starts at Home – Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of “Out of Reach” podcast
Diversion: A New(er) Approach to Homelessness

 

 

Homelessness Prevention helps those who face an imminent threat of homelessness stabilize their housing situation before they become homeless.
Homelessness Prevention
IDHS Homelessness Prevention
Homelessness Prevention Guide

 

Housing First is a strategy that focuses on helping homeless individuals find and secure housing before working with them to address the underlying issues that may have led to their situation.
What Housing First Really Means
Understanding and Implementing Housing First

 

Permanent Supportive Housing addresses the needs of those individuals facing the greatest barriers to finding and keeping housing.
What is Permanent Supportive Housing
IDHS Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent Supportive Housing

 

Rapid Rehousing provides short-term rental assistance and services.  The goals are to help people gain housing quickly, increase self-sufficiency, and stay housed.
What is Rapid Rehousing?
Rapid Rehousing
Rapid Rehousing Brief

 

Seniors are experiencing homelessness in growing numbers.
Elderly Homelessness
Building a Conversation:  Aged Homelessness on the Rise
Homelessness Among Older Adults

 

Street Outreach engages the hardest to serve population of homeless who are disconnected from supportive services.
The Role of Outreach and Engagement in Ending Homelessness
Outreach
Street Outreach Program Fact Sheet
The Public (video)

 

Transitional housing provides support for a longer period than rapid rehousing in order to address the complex needs of homeless families.
Transitional Housing
Life After Transitional Housing for Homeless Families — Report
Characteristics of Transitional Housing for Homeless Families

Nonfiction
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
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler

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