Jason struggled with homelessness and addiction on Chicago's streets for nearly two decades. Today, with help from The Night Ministry and a substance use treatment program, he has found permanent housing, stability, and hope. "It means everything to me, having a place. I have the basic necessities. When you're homeless, you don't have a bathroom or...
I started at The Night Ministry in 1998 as an intern, and I never left. And though I have been here for a quarter century now, it feels like time has flown by. Over these past 25 years, I have witnessed how, at The Night Ministry, we continue to find new ways to fulfill our mission to provide human connection, housing support, and health care...
Last fall, Kimberly opened her life up to a video crew from WTTW, Chicago's PBS station, for a documentary series about homelessness told through the lives of those who are experiencing it. She is well poised to do so. As a member of Youth 4 Truth, The Night Ministry's leadership program for young people, Kimberly has a passion for advocacy and is ...
This summer, The Night Ministry launched a Client Advisory Board for those served by its Outreach and Health Ministry Program, which brings health care, supportive services, and resources directly to people who are unhoused. Client Advisory Board members are recipients of the program's services who wish to provide feedback and gather information on...
The residents of Parenting with Purpose, The Night Ministry's housing program for young mothers and their kids, have long benefited from the agency's partnership with the Association House High School, a free, non–traditional education program based in Humboldt Park. The school provides a path to graduation for 16- to 21-year-olds facing educationa...
On October 5, 2023, we gathered together for Night Lights, the annual gala hosted by The Night Ministry's Associate Board, at Marshall's Landing in Merchandise Mart. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the event raised more than $90,000 for two of our shelter programs: Interim Housing, which offers short-term housing for young people, ...
By Damian Nelson, Director, Learning and Impact The strength of The Night Ministry's three Outreach and Health Ministry Programs is their ability to tailor their approaches to better help Chicago residents who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. The Health Outreach Bus, Street Medicine Team, and CTA Outreach Program each serve unique populations ...
By Henry Merrill, Pathways Transitional Living Program Supervisor At The Night Ministry's Youth Housing Programs, we are in the unique position of helping young people who are unhoused find a home with us, while we support them in finding a more permanent home of their own. The program I supervise, Pathways Transitional Living, provides up to two y...
Since launching in 2020, the Flexible Housing Pool for Youth, a collaboration between the Center for Housing and Health and other Chicago nonprofits, has helped 325 unhoused young adults access permanent housing through rent subsidies and supportive services. The Night Ministry plays a key role in the program by offering ongoing case management to ...
Finding a stable place to live, getting enough to eat, and receiving health care when they need it – these are the everyday concerns of many of the community members who visit The Night Ministry's Health Outreach Bus, according to a recent survey from the agency's Learning and Impact department. The Bus travels to Chicago neighborhoods with disprop...
On a warm Monday afternoon, The Night Ministry's Health Outreach Bus pulled up to a corner in the Roseland neighborhood, just as it does twice a week. But this day was a bit different. In addition to Bus staff providing their usual meals and supportive services to community members who were unhoused or experiencing poverty, team members from the ag...
Black students enrolled in Chicago Public Schools are at greater risk of being unhoused than their white and Hispanic classmates, with a one in four chance of experiencing homelessness during their time in the school system.[1] Students who are unhoused and identify as Black face an intersecting web of barriers that make it especially hard to get a...
Oral health issues are common among unhoused people and can lead to serious health consequences, such as exacerbating diabetes symptoms or negatively affecting heart health. Unfortunately, with its high cost and frequent need for multiple treatments, accessing dentistry is a struggle for many experiencing homelessness. To help address these concern...
Young people served by The Night Ministry are represented in "Unaccompanied," an art exhibition and audio installation that captures the faces and voices of unhoused youth through large-scale portrait paintings and sound recordings. The show's artists, Kate Capshaw and Joshua-Michéle Ross, collaborated with The Night Ministry and other organization...
People experiencing homelessness, unhoused youth included, often face significant challenges when it comes to finding employment such as lack of access to transportation to and from interviews, no permanent address to write on applications, no funds for interview attire, possible prejudice from employers, and more. To support their ability to obtai...
In the U.S., health disparities run along racial lines, with Black Americans continuing to experience poorer health outcomes than white Americans overall.[1] Poor health can negatively affect many areas of life, including by contributing to financial instability that may lead to housing loss. In this article, the fourth in our series exploring...
By Kyanna Johnson, Lead Street Medicine Outreach Professional, and Yoela Tepper, Substance Use Specialist As members of The Night Ministry's Street Medicine Team, we see firsthand the damage to human lives caused by encampment sweeps—the removal by municipal authorities of personal property from an outdoor space where unsheltered individuals have g...
In the first week of 2023, The Night Ministry debuted its brand-new Health Outreach Bus on Chicago's streets, bringing free health care, food, and other resources to neighborhoods with high rates of homelessness and poverty. The new vehicle includes helpful features such as exterior illumination and secure and refrigerated storage for medicati...
When you picture a shelter, you likely do not imagine a modern space with an open concept, a view of Chicago's skyline, a spacious kitchen, and plenty of natural light. But, after several months of renovations, The Night Ministry's Parenting with Purpose program, which provides up to 21 months of housing for pregnant and parenting young mothers and...
During the pandemic, Case Managers from The Night Ministry's Health Outreach Program had few options for locations where they could meet clients to fill out applications for housing, public benefits, and identification cards. That is, until May 2021 when the agency began providing case management to clients once a week at the Chicago Public Library...