The Night Ministry community gathered in support of our mission at Lacuna Lofts in Pilsen. With our special guest host, Lou Manfredini of HouseSmarts, WGN Radio 720, and WGN TV, we raised more than $347,000 to assist Chicago's unhoused residents. See photos from Lighting Up the Night 2024.
During the evening, we honored the Family of Rev. Barbara Bolsen, Chicago Transit Authority, and Alicia Pond for their service to The Night Ministry and the Chicago community. Learn more about our honorees.
Learn about past Lighting Up the Night Benefit Evenings.
Jackie spent five years without housing, staying in shelters, on trains, and temporarily with family members.
"The biggest challenge, of course, was finding someplace to sleep,” Jackie says. “And when you don’t have housing, people treat you like you are subhuman.”
“Not everybody is a criminal, is a bad person. Certain things happen in your life where it goes from being you’re working, you have a home, you’re stable until in the blink of an eye you’re on the street, you have no job.”
A friend told Jackie about The Night Ministry’s weekly outreach at the CTA Blue Line station in Forest Park. That’s where Jackie met Case Manager Stephannie Schreiber.
“I went up to the Forest Park stop and talked to her stuff and it's been great ever since,” Jackie says. “She actually helped me get some things that I needed and then she helped me get an apartment.”
“You just don't know how nice it is to have your own space, to have a key to where you can go and people don't ask you to leave.”
Jackie says the assistance she got from The Night Ministry and Stephanie recognized his dignity and humanity.
“She made me feel seen. She made me feel like a person talking to her. Working with her was a different experience for me because I actually felt like she cared.”
Alone and unhoused in Chicago, Alexis would sleep on trains and buses, in her storage unit, and even in the basement of her workplace overnight.
“I would ask my manager, ‘Is it OK if I just sleep down here for a couple of hours before I have to get back on the trains and sit there for another three hours?’”
“I was pretty much devastated and thinking, ‘I'm not going to make it,” she says. “But I didn't want to be the person that was stuck in the mindset of ‘I can't get out.’”
Early one morning, while riding the CTA Red Line, Alexis was approached by an individual who had stayed at The Crib, The Night Ministry’s overnight shelter for young adults.
“He told me, ‘This is where I got the help I needed. And I’m hoping they can help you the same way they helped me.’”
Alexis found safe shelter and a caring environment at The Crib, along with support to obtain her own housing, where she is today.
“I've never felt so blessed and grateful. I can finally unlock the door, breathe in some peaceful fresh air and know I got this.” Alexis says.
“I was doing what I needed to do to get myself together, and The Night Ministry was there to help me get to where I needed to be, which is where I’m at now—in my own place, doing well, decent job. And I couldn’t be more grateful for The Night Ministry.”
Jackie and Alexis made their journeys to stability with the support of friends like you. Please donate today so we can help even more our our unhoused neighbors improve their lives and thrive.
Or send a donation to us at
The Night Ministry
1735 North Ashland Avenue, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60622
It’s 4 p.m. on a Tuesday when The Night Ministry’s Health Outreach Bus pulls into the parking lot of a public park on Chicago’s Northwest side. Lining the park's perimeter are several tents, whose occupants make their way toward the vehicle to receive resources like food, water, harm reduction supplies, and medical care as well as assistance with their housing needs.
That’s just what the Bus program does. But something is different this afternoon. On any other day that the Bus is out on the streets, the vehicle is stationed in the middle of neighborhoods such as Pilsen, New City, and South Shore. But one day a week, the Bus is now adopting the model of the agency’s Street Medicine Program by visiting a round of encampments to provide services to their residents.
The move comes amidst growth in the number of Chicagoans who are living unsheltered. And it represents The Night Ministry’s ability to pivot its operations to respond to the changing needs of the city’s unhoused population and maximize the impact of its services.
“By taking this on, the Health Outreach Bus is becoming more flexible and mobile,” said Edward Davis, Bus Outreach Supervisor. “But whether we are visiting neighborhoods or encampments, we follow a schedule, so people know where we’ll be and when. That’s something the people we serve rely on.”
“People recognize us because we’re such a mainstay in the community,” he continued, “and that helps greatly in connecting to encampment residents.”
Juan Roca, Manager of Outreach Operations, agrees. “The clients are very appreciative. They say, ‘Thank goodness you’re coming here, because not many other services do.’ The Night Ministry’s persistence means a lot to them,” he said.
The change also represents a larger trend among The Night Ministry’s Health Outreach services: staff crossover among the Bus, Street Medicine, and CTA Outreach programs.
The result is a greater continuity of care for the agency’s clients and increased reliability of services.
Free and charitable clinics provide essential health care to underserved individuals and families, including those experiencing homelessness.
Join The Night Ministry and WTTW, Chicago’s PBS station, for a discussion about the pivotal role free clinics play in helping our unhoused neighbors address their medical needs, the impact of homelessness on health, and the importance of integrated care. The event is free but reservations are requested due to limited space.
