CHICAGO-The St. Leo Campus for Veterans, a project developed by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, is the recipient of the Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards® (CNDA) Special Recognition Award. The award was presented at an awards ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on February 7, 2008 and attended by Mayor Daley and numerous community leaders.

The Special Recognition Award is one of five given by CNDA each year as a way to bring together business, government, real estate, non-profit and philanthropic leaders to strengthen and expand neighborhood-based development activities in Chicago. The Special Recognition Award is given to a group that has shown promise as a new or emerging organization, or has achieved a pivotal or innovative community development project, or has been a critical provider of services to the community development field.

CNDA is organized by LISC/Chicago, an agency that works closely with sponsors and volunteer committees and judges to select award recipients and to produce the annual awards ceremony. The CNDA noted that in building the St. Leo Residence and its surrounding campus, the Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation converted a former parish into a resource that could meet the current needs of the community and incorporated an historic original bell tower to preserve the character of the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.

CNDA also highlighted the fact that the outside spaces were thoughtfully designed, specifically the adjacent memorial garden commemorating the heroic deeds of veterans. The St. Leo project, on the site of the former St. Leo Church, Elementary School, Rectory and Convent (1887- 2002) has been created with private funds and loans from public agencies.

Catholic Charities’ St. Leo Residence has been fully occupied since January 31, 2007, providing 141 veterans with a safe and sober environment while they improve their ability to live independently, obtain employment and regain financial stability. In addition to the residence, the campus includes a Veterans Affairs clinic adjacent to the St. Leo Residence that provides medical services, counseling and job training for the residents and for the 18,000 other homeless veterans in the Chicago metropolitan area, 8,000 of whom live on Chicago’s South Side.

In 2001, the U.S. Congress passed the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act (P. L. 107-95). Inspired by this Act, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs initiated an effort to address the needs of veterans in the communities where they live. The following year, the VA began a dialogue with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago about a unique initiative to develop housing for homeless veterans.

The VA identified the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago as the site of the area’s largest homeless veteran population. Catholic Charities brought the residence and surrounding campus to life through a unique funding partnership with the: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Home Loan Bank, Illinois Housing Development Authority, Illinois AMVETS, Archdiocese of Chicago, Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, City of Chicago, Chicago Housing Authority, Park National Bank, donors, policymakers and volunteers.

St. Leo Residence for Veterans, located at 7750 South Emerald Avenue, is located across the street from the new St. Leo Veterans Garden. Owned by Catholic Charities and funded by a $2.5 million grant from the Illinois AMVETS, the St. Leo Veterans Garden, designed by volunteer landscape architect, Mike Ciccarelli, contains large colorful seasonal plantings, a grassy berm, a large fountain and flagpole, the Walkway of Honor which links the fountain with five distinctive areas marked by the official seals of each branch of U.S. military service. The cast bronze seals are imbedded in the garden floor. The garden features circular seating throughout and is designed to encourage renewal, reflection and restoration for the 141 formerly homeless veterans living at the St. Leo Residence.

Now in its 90th year, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is the largest private, not-for-profit social service agency in the Midwest, annually assisting 1.1 million persons in Cook and Lake counties without regard to religious, ethnic or economic background. Catholic Charities fulfills the Church's role in the mission of charity by providing compassionate, competent, professional services that strengthen and support individuals, families and communities