Two local nonprofit powerhouses have partnered to create a program that will house families fleeing domestic violence in the western Cook County suburbs for two years.
The collaboration is designed to help victims of domestic violence move quickly into safe, stable housing.
Housing Forward in Maywood and Sarah’s Inn of Forest Park began planning the program, called Safe Bridge Housing about five years ago, and in October, they received a $1 million-a-year grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It covers temporary housing for 28 households, plus counseling and case management services for up to two years.
“Our ability to support families is often limited because much of our long-term supportive housing requires that the head of household have a disabling condition,” said Patricia Stokes, senior director of supportive housing at Housing Forward, which provides housing to unhoused individuals.
As more and more families came to Housing Forward for services, Stokes said, “there was a need for more capacity to support those families as they transition from the trauma that they were experiencing to a more stable living environment.”
“Finding safe affordable housing for both our populations of clients is a challenge in West Cook County, in particular for victims of domestic violence, where maybe they have some additional unique challenges,” said Carol Gall, executive director at Sarah’s Inn, an agency that offers counseling and advocacy services to those experiencing domestic violence.
Sarah’s Inn receives referrals from Cook County’s coordinated entry system, a process that assesses those experiencing homelessness in the suburbs and refers them to housing assistance programs. Even before Safe Bridge Housing, Sarah’s Inn has been a referral site for the coordinated entry system for about three years.
Through Safe Bridge, Sarah’s Inn contracts Housing Forward to provide case management services and resources, such as connecting families to social security benefits and DCFS, plus providing 28 units of transitional housing or rapid rehousing.
“Transitional housing offers a more immediate response to families because we have units that have a master lease that are ready to receive families if there is an emergency,” Stokes said. Families in Housing Forward’s nine transitional housing units don’t have to pay utilities or rent. The other 19 units are for rapid rehousing.
“If they stabilize and are able to take on more responsibility, they can move to rapid rehousing,” Stokes said.
In those cases, families that are a part of the Safe Bridge Housing program are responsible for utilities and contribute 30% of their income toward rent. These families also have the opportunity to take over the lease.
“The idea is that these individuals are growing roots and stabilizing their families and their children in school and work,” Gall said. After two years, the hope is “that they grow in a support network and are able to stay there, and they don’t have to uproot and move.”
To manage the influx of individuals, Housing Forward has hired someone to find the housing for the incoming families, plus two case managers. Sarah’s Inn has also hired new case managers.
“There may be some clients who are also potentially seeing some of our other staff as well, such as child and family counselors,” Gall said.
“We hope that this project will be successful in quickly moving survivors from instability to a safe, stable environment,” Stokes said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the 24-hour Sarah’s Inn crisis line at 708-386-4225 or visit https://the-network.org/get-help-dva/ for anonymous, confidential online chat in Spanish and English.
