Federal grants help out, but homeless services cost rising

On any given night, about 500 people in Lake County have no place to call home.

The good news, if it can be described that way, is nearly all of them find their way to shelters and other programs, officials said. Federal grants are a key part of keeping those facilities running.

This year, Lake County will distribute nearly $1.1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to a variety of agencies.

That's about the same as last year but only about half of what the county received three years ago, following a change in the allocation formula. Meanwhile, those directly involved said the number of homeless is increasing.

"The population has slowly grown," said Cedric Lee, spokesman for PADS Crisis Services, which sends the homeless to three facilities from its base at the Veterans Administration medical center in North Chicago.

"We still need more beds," Lee said. "There's a lack of affordable housing in Lake County, that would be the main reason, I think."

Last year, the homeless census turned up 496 people, compared with 414 in 2006, according to Joel Williams, a Lake County planner.

"Of those 496, all but eight were in shelters," he said. "We're happy people are really making sure they're not out in these elements."

Williams explained the formula change reduced the federal money many agencies received.

"We're only eligible for a certain amount and that amount has gone down for a variety of reasons," he said. The county each year requests funding as part of its Continuum of Care program, working with local agencies to identify needs and establish funding priorities.

This year, HUD doled out about $1.3 billion nationally. Services range from shelters to transitional and permanent housing, but the grants are competitive.

The agencies must provide a 20 percent to 50 percent match to get the grant, Williams said.

Lee said emergency shelters are getting more use.

"We're searching for another facility right now because we have so many people," he said.

Funds for the homeless

Lake County will receive nearly $1.1 million this year in an annual grant from the federal government.

• Public Action to Deliver Shelter, or PADS, Crisis Services: $224,648 to renew funding for a Safe Haven, a form of transitional housing for chronically homeless people with disabilities.

• Waukegan Township: $184,940 to renew funding for the Staben House, a transitional housing program for homeless women and children.

• PADS Crisis Services: $136,251 to renew funding for supportive services in conjunction with an emergency shelter.

• Lake County Health Department: $134,784 to renew funding for 13 units of permanent housing for chronically homeless people with disabilities.

• Lake County Residential Development Corp.: $82,766 to renew the SAFE Housing program to maintain nine units of transitional housing apartments for homeless families recovering from substance abuse who are also involved with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

• Independence Center: $58,184 to renew funding for eight units of permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals with mental illness.

• Catholic Charities: $56,700 to renew funding for Critical Time Intervention Case Management services for clients residing in the permanent supportive housing units managed by Shields Township.

• Prairie State Legal Services: $50,000 to renew funding for legal services for homeless people.

• Lake County Haven: $45,648 to renew funding for three units of transitional housing.

• Catholic Charities: $45,507 to renew funding to provide housing counseling services to move homeless people from emergency shelters and transitional housing into permanent housing.

• Christian Outreach of Lutherans: $41,234 to renew funding for two units of transitional housing.

• Lake County Planning Department: $15,000 to renew funding for maintenance and support of the federally mandated Homeless Management Information System, ServicePoint.

• I-PLUS: $12,805 to renew funding for Representative Payee services for clients residing in the permanent supportive housing units managed by Shields Township.

Source: Lake County government