Over the last year as funding for supportive housing has begun to stabilize we’ve been able to rehire many of the staff positions we lost during the Illinois state budget crisis. We’d like to introduce the people who are helping to ensure the program’s success. Thank you to Housing Services Manager Joy Bradford, and Housing Retention Specialists Raiki Adams, Brittanie Hundt, and Creana Fobbs for their incredible work of making sure that our participants gain access to much needed services.
With a focus on alleviating the immediate, persistent unmet demand for housing services in Chicago, Inspiration Corporation’s Housing Services program provides individuals and families with the housing and other supportive services needed to become and remain self-sufficient and live independently. Our Housing team works with people identified by street outreach programs like the one we operate out of our offices in Uptown. By providing wraparound services such as placement, case management, landlord communication, and advocacy, the program is helping participants work toward the ultimate goal of exiting poverty. “It’s awesome watching my team contribute to real change in the lives of our participants,” says Joy.
(Pictured from Left) Joy Bradford, Creana Fobbs, Brittanie Hundt, and Raiki Adams
The Housing Services program is funded by a combination of federal, state and city grants. Each grant carries a requirement that Inspiration Corporation match a percentage of the total amount of the government contract with private funds. Private support was even more important during the Illinois budget crisis, which resulted in deep cuts to state funding and forced us to make staff layoffs. Thanks to an outpouring of private support from individual donors, and the gradual stabilization of the state budget, we’ve been able to hire back some staff and provide more resources to people in the program. “Through the support of our donors, we have been able to expand our services to provide more resources to the folks that really need it [including scanners, welcome kits, and transportation donations],” says Joy. “It’s our duty to try to be the best stewards of these resources that we can be.”
While we are thankful that the State of Illinois finally has a budget, it’s important for all of our supporters and people who care about preserving these programs to know that our funding from the state is still less than 50% of what it the last time the state had a functioning budget. These days we are relying more and more on the generosity of private donors to sustain the program.
For more information on our Housing Services program, click here.