HISTORY
In 1963, Fr. Phillip Marquard, a Franciscan friar from the Sacred Heart Province, started an outreach program on the West Side of Chicago. This halfway house hosted 16 ex-offenders who, although already paroled, were unable to leave prison because they had no place to go. These men received transitional housing, job counseling, job placement, and access to substance use disorder programs. While Franciscan Outreach’s scope of services has expanded over the years to include a soup kitchen, emergency shelter, case management, and housing programs for men and women who are experiencing homelessness, the agency remains dedicated to Fr. Marquard’s mission to serve Chicago’s most vulnerable residents by providing for their basic needs and preserving their lives and their dignity, while engaging in efforts to help them address the challenges they face to improve their lives.
Since our founding, we have operated a wide variety of programs to serve people who are marginalized and homeless in Chicago. Since our incorporation in 1976 as a not-for-profit corporation, we have operated the following programs:
Located on Kinzie between Clark and LaSalle, we served daily lunch and dinner for 200, while also offering clothing and free medical assistance with the help of volunteer doctors.
Located in Harvey, Ill, Pilgrim Shelter served an average of 100 meals every weekday to adults and children, while also providing shelter to 30 men each night.
St. Anthony’s was a replacement for the Pilgrim Shelter and the original St. Anthony’s Inn. Transitional shelter, counseling, and training were provided to 20 men at a time, contingent on their completion of a substance use disorder program or recent release from prison. The location was sold in 1997, and became a transitional shelter for women.
Located in North Lawndale, this is Franciscan Outreach’s oldest and largest shelter. There is capacity for 227 men in two dormitories and 45 women in a third dormitory. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily. People have access to a dedicated case manager, daily support services, housing programs and specialized services, including medical assistance, mental health counseling, substance use disorder treatment and legal aid.
In the late 1980s, Franciscan Outreach needed a site that could house a soup kitchen, administrative offices, and living space for the Full-Time Volunteer Program. In October of 1990, we found a facility in Wicker Park. In 1995, we added our Case Management Program at this location. In addition to case management, we offered dinner and lunch during the week, showers, a free laundry service and a personal mail service.
Located in the basement of St. Peter’s Church in the Loop, Franciscan Outreach operates a Case Management office to connect guests to critical services, resources, and benefits, including legal services, public assistance, Social Security benefits and veterans’ benefits. Guests also have access to Franciscan Outreach’s shelters, housing programs and specialized services, including medical assistance, mental health counseling and substance use disorder treatment.
Located in the basement of Walls Memorial Church in East Garfield Park, Franciscan Outreach provides shelter to 70 men each night. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily. The men who stay at this facility, can go to the shelter on Harrison Street to visit with a dedicated case manager, and access daily support services, housing programs and specialized services, including medical assistance, mental health counseling, substance use disorder treatment and legal aid.
Located at Chicago’s Community Service Center in East Garfield Park, Franciscan Outreach operates a Day Program with case management services to connect guests to critical services, resources, and benefits, including legal aid, public assistance, Social Security benefits and veterans’ benefits. This service site is one of the only Access Points on the West Side for Skilled Assessors in Chicago’s Coordinated Entry System (CES), which connects people experiencing homelessness to housing. Guests also have access to Franciscan Outreach’s shelters, housing programs and specialized services, including medical assistance, mental health counseling and substance use disorder treatment.
Located in the Pilsen community, Franciscan Outreach operates the only shelter in Chicago that is directly focused on addressing the specific needs of men and women who are transitioning from tent-city encampments, including a safe place to sleep, three daily meals, 24-hour shelter access, storage bins and lockers for personal belongings, and a room for personal pets. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily. People have access to a dedicated case manager, daily support services, housing programs and specialized services, including medical assistance, mental health counseling and substance use disorder treatment.
In 2018, Franciscan Outreach sold the building in Wicker Park to reinvest in the organization’s shelter operations on Chicago’s West Side where the need is greatest. In 2019, Franciscan Outreach’s administrative office and the Full-Time Volunteer Program administrative services relocated to the Pilsen neighborhood in a building that used to be a rectory for St. Procopius Providence of God church. Franciscan Outreach oversees all program operations from this location.