United Power for Action and Justice: Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness Reports - Policy Brief

This is a story of two groups of determined people with intersecting interests. Group one: a dozen leaders within United Power for Action and Justice who set out to prove their conviction, that homelessness is one symptom of a complex of issues that destabilizes individuals and communities. Group two: persons who are homeless and struggle daily to “fit in” to a landscape that is, more and more, structured to shut them out. In 2000, a cluster of leaders within United Power organized member institutions in the north and northwest suburbs of Chicago, and initiated a relationship with Congressman John Porter (R-10, retired 2002), Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Labor - Health and Human Services (HHS) - Education Appropriations subcommittee. With Congressman Porter’s help, the group obtained $1.9 million in HHS grants to prove the efficacy of “supportive housing