Tents line both sides of an encampment on Desplaines Street in the South Loop on Jan. 16.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Research has consistently found that safe, affordable and stable housing is a key determinant to a person’s health. In Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, we’ve seen a perfect example of exactly how housing can impact those in need with Buffett Place.
In 2014, Thresholds and Brinshore partnered with the city, donors, political organizers, community volunteers and more to turn the shuttered Diplomat Hotel — a neighborhood blight that had been condemned by the city — into a supportive housing community that has provided life-changing housing services for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. It is a model for the types of affordable housing communities our city could provide with the appropriate resources.
Opened ten years ago, Buffett Place includes 51 furnished studio apartments for very low-income people with disabilities, many of whom have experienced homelessness. Thresholds provides on-site wraparound behavioral health services, funded by Medicaid. Thirty percent of today’s residents moved in in 2014, a testament to the success of permanent supportive housing in keeping people housed, and many of those who have moved out have done so once they were able to return to their preferred communities.
Residents of Buffett Place say that coming home and greeting their neighbors “feels like family.”
In the decade since Buffett Place opened, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Chicago has grown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent influx of immigrants seeking asylum status, rapidly increasing rents in many parts of the city and more. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimated that 68,000 Chicagoans experienced homelessness in 2023,; two-thirds are living doubled-up with relatives or friends.
According to the DePaul Institute for Housing Studies, the gap between what a low-income person can afford for rent and the supply of housing at that price has increased over the past 10 years. In Chicago, between 2012 and 2021, the supply of housing affordable to people earning 150% of the poverty line declined by 15%, with more than a third of this loss happening between 2019 and 2021. Research also finds that cities with fewer affordable apartments have higher per-capita rates of homelessness. In short: the need for more Buffett Places is even greater than it was a decade ago.
Creating more permanent supportive housing is a question of resources and political will. On March 19, Chicagoans have the chance, with Bring Chicago Home, to potentially put more resources into housing and wraparound services for those experiencing homelessness, hopefully leading to successes like Buffett Place.
Unlike more general affordable housing developments, most permanent supportive housing is operated by mission-driven non-profits because the profit margins are limited. One recent mandate from the city’s Department of Housing could address this: a measure to require that new affordable housing developments include a small percentage of permanent supportive housing units. The city is still developing guidelines for this concept.
Recent federal legislation on the structure of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, as well as state investment in the Home Illinois plan, will increase resources for affordable housing. But city leadership and resources are key. For this, we need transformative new funding like Bring Chicago Home, which could generate up to $100 million in new revenue, part of which could be spent on new permanent supportive housing and the supportive services individuals need
If we want to make a long-term commitment to address homelessness and create more positive, safe, stable housing like Buffett Place, we have to bring Chicago home.
Mark Ishaug is CEO of Thresholds, which provides services to people living with substance use disorder or mental illness.
The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.
The views and opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chicago Sun-Times or any of its affiliates.