City's plan to end homelessness by 2012 threatened by subprime meltdown

Homelessness has many faces. On Chicago streets, it may look like the frail woman at the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Wells Street or the aged veteran singing Otis Redding at the Chicago and State el stop. But with the nation in the middle of a mortgage crisis, that face could change.

The recent collapse of the subprime mortgage market and a long-standing lack of affordable housing have done a number on Chicagoans, some of them middle class. City residents were involved in 6,102 foreclosure cases in April, a 57 percent increase over the previous month, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate Web site. As more Chicagoans face the loss of their homes, politicians and advocates for the homeless fear that the city could lose its battle to end homelessness. In 2002, the city adopted a formal 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, with a goal of solving the problem by 2012.

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), who represents the Hyde Park-Kenwood area, said the city hasn't contributed enough of its own money to the plan. She worries that the current mortgage crisis and a weakening economy will only add to the problem.

"How are we going to meet our goals if we don't have the resources?" Preckwinkle said. "I'm concerned that our resources are declining because of the recession."

By 2020, Cook County will need an additional 78,000 units of affordable housing, according to a recent DePaul University study.

Preckwinkle and advocates for the homeless complained that the city is lagging behind federal and state governments in terms of funding for the 10-year plan. The city spends approximately $165 million a year on services for the homeless, said Ellen Sahli of the Chicago Department of Housing. However, that amount includes federal and state funds. Sahli declined to answer how much money the city puts in annually.

The city should set aside income generated from the Chicago Skyway Bridge and tax increment financing programs for affordable housing projects, said Julie Dworkin of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

As foreclosures rise, so does the need for affordable housing in the city.The increases also undermine the plan's "housing first" approach, said Dworkin. That approach focuses on permanent housing solutions for the homeless rather than temporary ones such as shelters and emergency funds.

"There haven't been enough resources put into the plan for affordable housing," Dworkin said. "You can't have a housing first approach if there's no affordable housing."

The Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness, which coordinates the city's 10-year plan, announced last week some progress toward its 2012 goal. But alliance officials acknowledged that the slumping economy and poor housing market are potential threats.

"Clearly the face of homelessness is growing," said Bob Dougherty, executive director of St. Leonard's Ministries. His group is one of several that make up the alliance.

Despite concerns over future setbacks, members of the alliance are calling the plan a success so far. Under the plan, the alliance created 778 units of supportive housing for singles and families, said Nancy Radner, the group's chief executive officer.

Legislation to create a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund passed the U.S. House of Representatives in October. If it becomes law, Chicago could share in 1.5 million units of affordable housing to be built nationwide over the next 10 years.

Housing foreclosures may be capturing today's headlines, but the housing crisis isn't news to some. Abdullah Hassan, executive director of Inner Voice, a support organization for Chicago's homeless, said he's seen that population increase over the last 10 years. There has been a slight increase in the number of people they serve because of the foreclosure crisis, he said, but he isn't yet sure how big that population is.

"We've seen that things have gotten worse,'' he said. "People are just now starting to notice."