Formation | 1985 |
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Type | Non-profit |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
Region served | Chicago |
Website | www |
Part of a series on |
Living spaces |
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Deborah's Place, established in 1985, is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that offers shelter, resources and support to the homeless women of Chicago. Its mission is to provide resources to homeless women in order for them to transition from being homeless. Programs and services include permanent supportive housing and basic necessities. [1] [2] Deborah's Place has worked with over 4,000 women, delivering employment training, access to education, healthcare, case management, permanent, interim and subsidized community-based housing. [3] One-third of participants are recovering from drug abuse and mental illness. [4]
The founders named the organization "Deborah's Place" after an Old Testament story about a judge named Deborah, who raised an army of 10,000 soldiers to free oppressed people. [3] [5] They received assistance from the Immaculate Conception Church in Chicago in order to host their first overnight emergency women's shelter in the church's gymnasium. [3] Funding began through the religious groups, community groups and private contributions. They networked with LaSalle Street Church, The First United Methodist Church, Holy Name Cathedral, St. James Cathedral and Fourth Presbyterian. [1]
Possible establishment locations have been rejected such as the one proposed by Reverend Pastor Joe Morin of St. Alphonsus in 2007, for a Deborah's Place shelter location to be placed on his church property, but lost in the South Lakeview Neighbors Association meeting due to "disgruntled residents". [4] [1] Deborah's Place has also faced disgruntled residents in possible establishment in Wicker Park. [6]
Kathy Booton Wilson is the fourth and current CEO of Deborah's Place, and has worked for the organization for over 30 years. [7]
With help from the Community Emergency Shelter Organization (CESO), Deborah's Place was able to create an its first overnight shelter for women on the North side of Chicago. [8] The organization's first overnight shelter was opened in 1985 in a church gymnasium at the location of 1404 North Sedgwick Ave., Chicago, Illinois. [3] [1] [8] The staff included three people with 25 volunteers and a budget of $69,000. [1] By 1987 the organization was granted 501(c)(3) non-profit status. [1] In 1998, Womancraft Inc, a for-profit program was launched, which employed participants of Deborah's Place to make jewelry and paper decorations to help raise funds for the organization. [1] By 2004, the switch to providing long-term stability occurred and the organization opened its first daytime shelter in Bucktown, Chicago, along with a transitional housing program with the purpose of helping homeless women find housing and income. [1] [8] [3]
Locations in Garfield Park and Old Town offer Permanent Supportive Housing to women who've experienced homelessness. Based on the philosophy of Housing First, the organization strives to meet women where they are, with the goal that once a woman comes to Deborah's Place she will never be homeless again. This includes the evidence-based practice of Harm Reduction, which provides resources to reduce the risks of engaging in dangerous behavior such as drug use rather than enforcing sobriety as a condition of maintaining housing. Supportive community is also key to the organization's philosophy of healing from the trauma of homelessness.
Deborah's Place offers interim and permanent housing that are all linked to supportive services at four locations throughout Chicago. [9] Housing is for transitional purposes, which provides supportive services to become self-sufficient. [9] [10] Locations on the West and North Side of Chicago include supportive services such as: crisis intervention, counseling, health care assistance, job training, education, daytime learning centers, transitional housing, 129 supported living apartments and 90 rental studio apartments. [8] Housing is only offered to individuals who identify as female or non-binary. [11]
Irene's was a housing program that provided job counseling, showers, laundry, art therapy, phones and lunches to its participants. [12] [8] [1] It started in 1985 and closed in 2005. [12] [8] Another form of housing offered is The Overnight Shelter, which offers food, showers and a Learning Center between the hours of 5pm-8am, with the length of stay being unlimited. [1] The Safe Haven offers shelter up to 15 homeless women, whom suffer from severe mental illness and/or have been chronically homeless. [3] [11] In 1988, Marah's Transitional Housing Program began and offers up to 22 women two years of a semi-structured environment with private rooms. In return the participants participate in communal meals and assist the program. [8] [1] [4]
In 1995, The Chicago Foundation for Women supported program within the Eleanor Network, Teresa's Transitional Shelter was opened and provided ten women housing and programs up to four months with dormitory-style living spaces. Participants who stayed in the housing had to help with community chores and cooking. [12] [1] [4] Another housing option offered is Deborah's Place II Apartments with permanent supportive housing where tenants sign lease and pay up to 30 percent of their income as rent, as well as services such as case management, support groups, employment help, art therapy and educational resources. [1] Redeveloped in 2000, Rebecca Johnson Apartments also offer permanent housing were the tenants pay 30 percent of their salary as rent for one of the 90 studio apartments offered with services such that include work out facilities, staff offices, case management, support groups, art therapy and The Learning Center. [1] [13]
The Learning Center Provides humanities studies including US History, Art History, Literature, music and film studies. [13] Other resources also include libraries, computers and individual tutoring along with Internet access. [13] The Savings Incentive Program (SIP) is a resource provided by Teresa's Transitional Shelter, which teaches budgeting skills to residents. [14] Jesseca Rhymes an active volunteer for Deborah's Place has been organizing a feminine hygiene collection drive to donate to Deborah's Place since 2015. [15]
Deborah's Place Open Door fundraiser/award ceremony
Deborah's Place holds an annual fundraiser/award ceremony called Open Doors where people donate money to the organization by betting on raffles or general charity. Deborah Place volunteers and employees are given awards as well. [16] On June 10, 2012, Deborah's Place held a fundraiser/award presentation where they raised over $100,000. Award recipients included Linda Palm, who received the Founders Award, and the Sammons Financial Group, who received the Philanthropic Partner Group. [17]
Illinois Dimension of Quality Award
Awarded in 2011 for their work in holistic service. [13]
Sara Lee Foundation Chicago Spirit Award
In May 2000, Deborah's Place received the Sara Lee Foundation Chicago Spirit Award, which was a $100,000 award for their impact on homelessness. [1]
1 in 4
Deborah's Place is a part of the 1 in 4 Initiative, which is a national effort organization whose goal is to end homelessness. The 1 in 4 Initiative is a national effort built on regional partnerships and established by The American Roundtable to Abolish Homelessness (ART). [18]
Deborah's Place receives referrals with the help of the Coordinated Entry System that helps connect the homeless with the proper necessities. [2] Kathy Booton Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, advocates for the Coordinated Entry System. [19]
Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives, and is an active "community services and funding" stream across the United States. It was developed by different professional academics and US governmental departments that supported housing. Supportive housing is widely believed to work well for those who face the most complex challenges—individuals and families confronted with homelessness and who also have very low incomes and/or serious, persistent issues that may include substance use disorders, mental health, HIV/AIDS, chronic illness, diverse disabilities or other serious challenges to stable housing.
So Others Might Eat (SOME) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to assist those dealing with poverty and homelessness in Washington, D.C. The organization provides affordable housing, job training, counseling and other healthcare services, and daily needs such as food and clothing to the poor and homeless. It spends the largest portion of its annual budget on affordable housing, with a majority of its residents recovering from addiction. SOME describes its mission as helping "our vulnerable neighbors in Washington, DC, break the cycle of homelessness through our comprehensive and transformative services".
Housing First is a policy that offers unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward. It was first discussed in the 1990s, and in the following decades became government policy in certain locations within the Western world. There is a substantial base of evidence showing that Housing First is both an effective solution to homelessness and a form of cost savings, as it also reduces the use of public services like hospitals, jails, and emergency shelters. Cities like Helsinki and Vienna in Europe have seen dramatic reductions in homelessness due to the adaptation of Housing First policies, as have the North American cities Columbus, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Medicine Hat, Alberta.
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The Cathedral Shelter of Chicago was founded in 1915. It began as a storefront mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, attached to the former Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, providing food and clothing to the poor and homeless. In 1920, they began offering substance abuse treatment. Under the leadership of Father David Gibson, an Episcopal priest, the shelter was of great importance during the Great Depression.
Breaking Ground, formerly Common Ground, is a nonprofit social services organization in New York City whose goal is to create high-quality permanent and transitional housing for the homeless. Its philosophy holds that supportive housing costs substantially less than homeless shelters — and many times less than jail cells or hospital rooms, and that people with psychiatric and other problems can better manage them once they are permanently housed and provided with services. Since its founding in 1990 by Rosanne Haggerty, the organization has created more than 5,000 units of housing for the homeless. "This is about creating a small town, rather than just a building," according to Haggerty. "It's about a real mixed society, working with many different people." Haggerty left the organization in 2011 to found Community Solutions, Inc. Brenda Rosen was promoted from Director, Housing Operations and Programs to Executive Director, and has led the organization since.
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Northeast Kingdom Community Action (NEKCA) is an anti-poverty community action agency that helps people in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom meet their basic needs and become self-sufficient. The agency is a partner of the Vermont Department for Children and Families and is primarily funded by federal and state government resources.
House of Ruth, founded in 1976 and opened on November 21, 1977, is a non-profit organization that serves more than 600 women and children who are abused and homeless in Washington, DC.
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