Bill Text: IL HR0986 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the State of Illinois to launch a pilot project to establish a transitional shelter village that will support the crisis housing and health needs of people currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-11-22 - Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Lindsey LaPointe [HR0986 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HR0986-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Homelessness is a matter of life and death; the | ||||||
3 | scope of the homelessness crisis and the
immediate need for | ||||||
4 | housing in Illinois is staggering; and
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5 | WHEREAS, In 2020, at least 10,431 Illinoisans experienced | ||||||
6 | homelessness; when the number of people
experiencing | ||||||
7 | doubled-up homelessness, living with others because of | ||||||
8 | economic hardship or housing loss, is combined with those who | ||||||
9 | requested services from
the U.S. Department of Housing and | ||||||
10 | Urban Development (HUD) over the course of 2020, the
count is | ||||||
11 | over 65,000 people experiencing homelessness in Chicago alone; | ||||||
12 | and
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13 | WHEREAS, According to Illinois State Board of Education | ||||||
14 | (ISBE) data, 47,455 school children were
identified as | ||||||
15 | experiencing homelessness in the 2019-2020 school year; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Chronic homelessness has increased both in number | ||||||
17 | and percentage; the percentage of the
homeless population | ||||||
18 | consisting of chronically homeless rose from 9% in 2016 to 22% | ||||||
19 | in 2020; and
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20 | WHEREAS, People experiencing homelessness include those | ||||||
21 | with substance use disorders,
HIV/AIDS, serious mental |
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1 | illness, veterans, and survivors of domestic violence; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Black people are eight times more likely to | ||||||
3 | experience homelessness than white people; Black Illinoisans | ||||||
4 | comprise 14% of the population of the State, but they | ||||||
5 | constitute 61% of residents
experiencing homelessness; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Regions of the State with high concentrations of | ||||||
7 | disabled populations are considered
at greater risk for | ||||||
8 | homelessness; and
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9 | WHEREAS, People experiencing unsheltered homelessness may | ||||||
10 | become frequent utilizers of hospital
emergency rooms; | ||||||
11 | encampments, tents, cars, abandoned buildings, and park | ||||||
12 | benches, are
unsafe, unhealthy, and undignified, and | ||||||
13 | unsheltered homelessness is especially dangerous
during cold | ||||||
14 | weather, heat waves, and extreme weather conditions; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Crisis housing, the foundational safety net for | ||||||
16 | persons in immediate need of shelter, includes
overnight | ||||||
17 | emergency and domestic violence shelters, transitional | ||||||
18 | housing, recuperative
care/medical respite, and recovery | ||||||
19 | homes; and
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20 | WHEREAS, During COVID-19, shelter capacity diminished | ||||||
21 | significantly, and many areas across Illinois lack
any |
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1 | fixed-site emergency shelters for people who are experiencing | ||||||
2 | homelessness; prior to the
pandemic, a significant proportion | ||||||
3 | of emergency shelter bed capacity included rotating,
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4 | congregate shelter; non-congregate shelter (NCS) became | ||||||
5 | necessary to protect highly
vulnerable people experiencing | ||||||
6 | homelessness during the pandemic; the rotating shelter model,
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7 | which has never been adequate for many reasons, no longer | ||||||
8 | exists, and
significant investment would be required to | ||||||
9 | rebuild it; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Emergency housing provided through converted | ||||||
11 | hotels, dorms, and schools and the
construction of new | ||||||
12 | non-congregate emergency housing is not expected to eliminate | ||||||
13 | the need
for other types of crisis housing; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Crisis housing is a critical part of and the | ||||||
15 | gateway to the continuum of housing, including
affordable and | ||||||
16 | permanent supportive housing; Illinois lacks sufficient crisis | ||||||
17 | housing to meet its
needs, allowing many people experiencing | ||||||
18 | unsheltered homelessness to languish for months
and even years | ||||||
19 | until other housing options become available; there is an | ||||||
20 | urgent need for
effective, safe, and dignified non-congregate | ||||||
21 | crisis housing; and
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22 | WHEREAS, A model of rapid-response transitional shelter | ||||||
23 | villages with case management has emerged; this model of |
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1 | transitional housing can serve as a bridge from unsheltered | ||||||
2 | homelessness to
long-term housing; the faster people are moved | ||||||
3 | off the street, the sooner their path to stability
can begin; | ||||||
4 | and
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5 | WHEREAS, Residents of these transitional shelter villages | ||||||
6 | are connected to housing with wraparound social services, such | ||||||
7 | as mental health
care from a local service provider and | ||||||
8 | on-site amenities, such as showers and laundry; with a
safe | ||||||
9 | place to sleep, a supportive environment, access to meals, | ||||||
10 | hygiene facilities, and a case
manager, residents can focus on | ||||||
11 | finding permanent housing and employment opportunities; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Transitional shelter villages combine the safety | ||||||
13 | of private units with the benefits of a communal
environment | ||||||
14 | to offer residents security and a pathway to stability; | ||||||
15 | residents can lock their
belongings in their unit, access | ||||||
16 | on-site social services, and be a part of a community; and
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17 | WHEREAS, At least nine other states across the country | ||||||
18 | have successfully launched dozens of
rapid-response | ||||||
19 | transitional shelter villages and have achieved successful | ||||||
20 | outcomes; transitional shelter villages have been launched in | ||||||
21 | cold weather climates, including Madison,
Wisconsin and | ||||||
22 | Boston, Massachusetts; and
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1 | WHEREAS, This model is more cost-effective than any | ||||||
2 | institutional setting per person or unit and can be
built at a | ||||||
3 | fraction of the cost of traditional homeless shelters, which | ||||||
4 | can take years to build; prefabricated shelters can be quickly | ||||||
5 | installed and are proven to help people transition into
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6 | permanent housing; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
8 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we urge the State of Illinois to launch a pilot project to | ||||||
10 | establish a transitional
shelter village that will support the | ||||||
11 | crisis
housing and health needs of people currently | ||||||
12 | experiencing unsheltered homelessness; and be it further
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13 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
14 | delivered to the Speaker of the House, the House Minority | ||||||
15 | Leader, the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the | ||||||
16 | Governor, and the Secretary of the Illinois Department of | ||||||
17 | Human Services.
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