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Each year, we assist thousands of individuals and families who come to us from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Their stories illustrate the complexity of housing crisis and homelessness, and how delivering solution-focused personalized support services ensures vulnerable community members thrive.

There is no one "face" or one cause of homelessness. The people we assist are a diverse group of individuals and families who have one thing in common: they have experienced a catastrophic housing or financial crisis. Often, that crisis is precipitated and/or complicated by a physical disability, chronic health condition, or behavioral health disorder, conditions that are exacerbated by the lack of access to proper care and resources.

Here are a few of their stories.

Client Kerry
Kerry slept in his brother’s auto garage for years before he met Jennifer at a street corner in Cicero. Jennifer, a...
Theresa
Theresa was unlawfully evicted from her home. Taking only what she could carry, Theresa had to leave behind her late...
Aaron
Meet Aaron. Aaron has experienced homelessness for more than a decade. Found in a dumpster as an infant, he was placed...
Kimberly
Kimberly spent the past year without a home, living in cities across the country, in forests, and on the streets...
Client Couple
Some of the first people affected by COVID-19 worked in the service industry—people like Heather, a waitress, and Joe, a...
Thornton
Thorton is the lead worker on Housing Forward’s Interim Housing Program sanitation crew. Every weekday, he supervises a...