Transitioning to independence

Youth between 18-24 typically enroll in higher education, professional training, and/or employment as they move into adulthood. Homelessness disrupts their growth and puts them at risk of violence and exploitation and future poverty and housing insecurity. Our Emerging Adults program serves vulnerable youth, including pregnant and parenting mothers, former foster care children, LGBTQ+ youth, and others. It offers trauma-informed housing, intensive case management, and connections to housing and supportive services. BEDS partners with Metropolitan Family Services, New Moms and Housing Forward to provide services for these clients.

Domestic abusers deny access to income, savings, transportation, and family and social networks to their targets. After fleeing, survivors can only stay in domestic violence shelters for a limited duration and may not have anywhere to go after leaving. Families fleeing violence risk developing serious health and behavioral health conditions, straining family relationships, hampering children’s growth and development, and separation. Our Families in Transition program offers trauma-informed housing, intensive case management, and connections to independent housing and supportive services. BEDS is proud to partner with Pillars Community Health to provide health care, counseling, advocacy and legal services for clients.

Incarceration can leave people with limited employment opportunities, familial and social networks, and housing options. Our Justice Involved Household Transitional Housing program offers trauma-informed housing, intensive case management, and connections to independent housing and supportive services.

Family separation traumatizes family members and hinders children’s growth and development. We partner with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services to provide Housing Navigation services to separated families, which locate affordable housing where they can reunite.

Families with children experiencing homelessness have complex needs and require more recover. BEDS offers specialized programming and staff to help them regain and sustain housing and manage the causes and effects of homelessness. These include a Family Bridge program that provides up to 24 months of interim housing in organization-leased apartments, case management, and supportive service referrals and a DCFS Family Transitional Housing program that provides extended residencies and intensive case management for families experiencing homelessness who have histories of involvement with DCFS.