Shelter Outreach Services

Parents live in shelters for innumerable reasons. It may be due to poverty, the growing shortage of affordable rental housing, domestic violence, or even severe and persistent mental illness. Children, however, live in shelters because they are the offspring of parents who are homeless. Yet the impact is oftentimes more traumatic for the children than parents.

For families living in shelters, life lacks security or stability. That is where Beacon Therapeutic holds its value. We are the anchor. We are the hope. We are the link to better tomorrows.

Click here to learn more about and make a donation to Beacon's Fresh Starts Program.

True to its mission, when Beacon noticed that homeless families were growing in number, the agency initiated its Shelter Outreach Services (SOS) program. Funded by the Chicago Department of Human services in 1992, which was followed by HUD funding in 1996, SOS is grounded in a wraparound philosophy of care. That is, Beacon’s philosophy and practices are based on the strengths of the child/youth and family. The program is family-centered, needs-driven, individualized, and culturally appropriate.

A team of highly skilled professionals work with each family in the SOS program. Each member of the team holds a specialization in one of the areas identified by the family as a need. Services that the family may access include: assessments, treatment, psychiatric evaluations, psychological assessments, and community-based case management including life skills, parenting groups, linkage to mainstream resources, and locating permanent housing.

The wraparound philosophy embraced by Beacon Therapeutic is also a vital part of the City of Chicago's Plan to End Homelessness.

Tonya gives all she has. All she has to give is love. With nine children, 13 to six-months, Tonya was forced to move into a homeless shelter before the twins were born six months ago. One has Down Syndrome and requires special care. An agency offered free, in-home physical therapy, but Tonya declined. "I have no home," she said, assuming that was a requirement for the services.

Beacon took a triage approach to this family in crisis. First, we linked the twins with free medical services including the in-home therapy, which is being provided at Tonya's sister's home. With immediate, urgent needs met, we began helping Tonya to define and start taking the steps toward a home of her own. Tonya is now working part time and has asked her employer for additional hours. Her day starts at 3:30 a.m. when she begins getting her children ready for school and day care. Some days never seem to end, because mothers and children sleep in one large room.

Chicago has an acute shortage of low-income housing, and the vast majority of units are apartments. Tonya's family requires a home, not an apartment, making the goal even more difficult. Beacon is teaching her how to make the journey home bearable for her and her children in a step-by-step process that could take years.