Officials have released new details about the city’s plan to merge its shelter systems for asylum-seekers and unhoused people into a unified network.
Three city-run and two state-run migrant shelters will remain open past the new year and become part of the One System Initiative intended for all residents experiencing homelessness starting in January, according to a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.
The city shelters that will be merged are the former site of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Douglas on the South Side, a facility that was used by the Marine Corps in North Park and the American Islamic College in Uptown. The two state-run shelters are the Holiday Inn in West Lawn and a former hotel in Hyde Park.
Those sites are currently housing roughly 2,000 people.
By the end of the year, the seven remaining city-run shelters are expected to close their doors. The Inn of Chicago, on the North Side, will close Nov. 15, the city’s Department of Family and Support Services said. All current residents will be moved to other locations.
Under the One System Initiative, an estimated 3,800 beds designated for immigrants — funded by the city and state — will be added to the existing 3,000 beds for anyone experiencing homelessness in Chicago. That number is far less than the 14,175 beds a group of community advocates and officials had recommended the city keep for the One System Initiative.
It is also less than the city’s estimate of 11,000 shelter beds it needs to combat homelessness. An estimated 18,836 people are experiencing homelessness in Chicago this year, according to the city’s annual tally.
The merger comes two years after former Mayor Lori Lightfoot set up temporary shelters to house newly arrived migrants who were sent to Chicago on buses and planes by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican aiming to send immigrants to sanctuary cities led by Democrats.
As part of the transition, the city will end extensions for people awaiting public benefits, and the landing zone — a designated area for newly arrived immigrants — will close by Dec. 31.
The city will also phase out a controversial contract with Favorite Healthcare Staffing — a Kansas City-based company that has run many of the city’s migrant shelters — and move toward working with community organizations to staff shelters, officials with DFSS have said.
Contributing: Elvia Malagon and WBEZ reporter Tessa Weinberg