CHICAGO-Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, along with the Chicago Department of Housing, the Emergency Fund, and the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness released the outcomes of the first year of the Homelessness Prevention Call Center (HPCC) today. The meeting took place at the Polk Bros. Foundation in Chicago.

Using a slide presentation with statistics, a group of speakers described outcomes from the HPCC and the people who utilized it. The program began with remarks by Ellen Sahli, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Housing. Phillip Hampton, Director, Chicago 311-City Services commented on 311's role in sending calls to the HPCC. Kathy Donahue, Director of Programs for Catholic Charities spoke about HPCC data results. Nancy Radner from the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness discussed the next steps to take in preventing homelessness.

"Catholic Charities is proud to be part of this innovative collaboration to prevent homelessness. I look forward to implementing the lessons we have learned from our first year of operation and increasing public awareness of this critically-needed resource," said Rev. Michael Boland, President, CEO and Administrator of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Early in 2007, the HPCC opened as a central point of access for Chicago residents seeking one-time financial assistance to avoid homelessness because of a temporary economic crisis such as loss of a job, wages or public benefits. One year later, the call center has received over 54,000 calls from Chicago residents threatened with an eviction or utility shut-off. The calls came from all areas of the city, with heavy requests from the far south and far west sides of Chicago.

A typical caller in the past year was female, African-American, over age 30 and was requesting help with rent. Approximately one in three callers was eligible for community-available financial assistance. In addition to providing information and resources to thousands of persons in crisis, the call center has generated new data that will shape future efforts in homelessness prevention.

How it Works
People who need financial assistance to pay rent, mortgage or utility bills call 311 and ask for "short-term help." They are connected to the HPCC where specialists assess the caller's needs and determine what programs are appropriate for them. The HPCC is housed at Catholic Charities' office at 721 N. LaSalle and Catholic Charities manages and supervises all day-to-day operations. Leading-edge technology systems enable the HPCC specialists to have access to a comprehensive database of community services and enable tracking of referrals through the social service system to help identify service gaps and trends in the community.

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