COMMUNITY PARTNERS
The men and women we serve at Franciscan Outreach are among the city of Chicago’s most vulnerable residents. We work in collaboration with community partners to address the many challenges people who are marginalized and homeless face on a daily basis. Together, with our community partners, we provide thousands of Chicagoans with food, shelter, and access to critical programs and services that empower our guests to address the challenges in their lives, gain stability and transition into permanent housing.
Department of Family and Support Services
The City of Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) funds a network of community based shelters that support individuals who are in crisis and the chronically homeless. As a delegate agency, DFSS provides crucial funding to the organization to operate our shelters and programs.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Continuum of Care Program
The Continuum of Care (CoC) program promotes community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness. The program provides funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness. The program promotes access to and effects utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families. The program optimizes self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
A Safe Haven
A Safe Haven (ASH) is a social enterprise that provides a comprehensive approach, providing the tools for people to address the root causes of poverty and homelessness. It provides people with social and economic development programs to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency. ASH is a community partner, providing job training and placement services for Franciscan Outreach guests, specializing in individuals with criminal backgrounds.
Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center, Inc.
The Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center provides holistic, evidence-based mental health care, addictions treatment, and developmental disability services for adults, youth and families living in Chicago’s West Side and surrounding communities. The Bobby Wright Center partners with Franciscan Outreach to provide guests with mental health and substance use disorder counseling.
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) advocates for public policies that curb homelessness. CCH leads strategic campaigns, community outreach, and public policy initiatives that target the lack of affordable housing in metropolitan Chicago and across Illinois. Franciscan Outreach works with CCH on the Bring Chicago Home campaign, including attending planning and advocacy meetings; having staff, guests, volunteers, and donors contact aldermen and others; and being available for media interviews. Franciscan Outreach staff and guests travel to Springfield with CCH to lobby legislators in support of issues that support men and women experiencing homelessness.
Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart
The Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart has been a long-standing supporter of Franciscan Outreach. Franciscan friars of the Sacred Heart Province engage in many different ministries, including Franciscan Outreach. Friars of the Sacred Heart Province are also engaged in the ministries through St. Peter’s Church in the Loop. Friars of the Sacred Heart Province serve as members of the Franciscan Outreach Board of Directors. There are also friars of the Sacred Heart Province who serve as staff and as volunteers of Franciscan Outreach. The Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart and St. Peter’s Church in the Loop are generous financial supporters of Franciscan Outreach. However, no funds raised by Franciscan Outreach are ever given to or shared with the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart or St. Peter’s Church.
Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD)
The Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) has been a long-standing community partner of Franciscan Outreach. It serves as a food bank to some 700 agencies throughout Cook County, including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. Franciscan Outreach relies on the regular food deliveries we receive from the GCFD, which allows us to prepare daily meals for our guests at our three shelters throughout Chicago.
Haymarket Center
Haymarket Center serves people with substance use disorders in their recovery by providing comprehensive behavioral health services. Haymarket partners with Franciscan Outreach to provide substance use disorder treatment, HIV, and Hepatitis C education programs to guests
Heartland Health Outreach
Heartland Health Outreach (HHO) is a Chicago healthcare provider for people who are homeless, impoverished, and sick. HHO provides medical, dental, mental health, community and residential housing, food and nutrition, and outreach services. HHO is a Franciscan Outreach community partner, providing medical assistance to shelter guests.
Inspiration Corporation
Inspiration Corporation helps people who are affected by homelessness and poverty to improve their lives, and increase self-sufficiency through social services, employment training and placement, and housing. Inspiration Corporation partners with Franciscan Outreach to provide the job training necessary for guests to receive their Food Handler Certification.
Lawndale Christian Health Center
Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) provides healthcare services for Chicago’s Lawndale and neighboring communities. LCHC serves nearly 60,000 patients annually at six locations. LCHC partners with Franciscan Outreach to provide medical assistance, HIV testing, dental services, life skills training, and conflict resolution support to guests.
Legal Council for Health Justice
Legal Council for Health Justice (LCHJ) provides personalized, professional legal services for people with disabilities or illness. LCHJ is a community partner of Franciscan Outreach, providing guests with legal assistance and counsel for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
National Able Network
National Able Network (NAN) provides personalized career support for job seekers, staffing and training resources for businesses, and office support for non-profits. Job seeker programs include job training, coaching, and employment connections. NAN provides employment and job training services for Franciscan Outreach.
Rush University Medical Center
Rush Community Service Initiatives Program (RCSIP)
Since 1991, the Rush Community Service Initiatives Program (RCSIP) has been operating a weekly free medical clinic at the Franciscan Outreach shelter on Harrison St. in North Lawndale. The clinic is staffed by volunteer teams of Rush Medical School students, Nursing School students, clinicians and attending physicians who provide medical assistance to Franciscan Outreach shelter guests. Working in partnership with Franciscan Outreach, the clinic is a major source of high quality medical care and health education for shelter guests who would not otherwise have access to these type of services.
Rush Surplus Food Program
Rush University Medical Center Surplus Food Program delivers surplus food to Franciscan Outreach’s shelter in North Lawndale. The surplus food comes from Rush’s three hospital kitchens and cafeterias at its Near Southwest Side campus. Rush provides healthy packaged meals and trays of unused food.
The Chicago Recovery Alliance
The Chicago Recovery Alliance (CRA) provides harm reduction outreach, HIV prevention, syringe exchange, safe injection education, and drug and safe sex education services to addicted individuals in Chicago. Services are primarily administered from mobile clinics available at 21 sites throughout the city. The CRA provides harm reduction, and individual and group counseling for substance use disorders and stress management for Franciscan Outreach guests.
The Night Ministry
The Night Ministry is a Chicago-based organization that provides compassionate care through housing, healthcare, outreach, spiritual care, and social services to members of the community struggling with poverty or homelessness. The Night Ministry provides HIV testing for Franciscan Outreach guests.
The United Center & Levy
The United Center is home to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. It hosts more than 200 events each year, including sporting events, musical acts, and special events. Together with its hospitality partner Levy, the United Center is committed to delivering superior service to its guests in-arena while continuing to positively impact the Chicago community beyond its doors. The United Center and Levy work in partnership with Franciscan Outreach to provide the surplus food that goes unused after games and events to Franciscan Outreach shelters for the men and women who are homeless to enjoy.
Thresholds
Thresholds provides healthcare, housing, and hope for thousands of persons with mental illnesses and substance use disorders in Illinois each year. Thresholds assists people with mental illness to reclaim their lives through care, employment, advocacy, and housing. Thresholds provides mental health counseling services for Franciscan Outreach guests.