Hotels Shelter Homeless During Coronavirus Stay-At-Home Order

EVANSTON, IL — A local nonprofit dedicated to helping those experiencing homelessness in the Evanston area has ramped up its operations during the coronavirus pandemic, booking all rooms at one local hotel and most rooms at another.

Connections for the Homeless has begun providing temporary housing and meals for more than 200 people in the three weeks since the governor's statewide stay-at-home order, according to representatives of the nonprofit.

Jennifer Kouba, associate development director, told Patch the nonprofit has scaled up to 24/7 operations for the first time in its more than 35-year history.

"It's a whole new world for us but we are figuring it out as we go and making adjustments as needed and adding services as best we can," Kouba said.

In addition to providing needed shelter during the governor's order, Connections staff have been delivering three meals a day and other support to hotel rooms— "room service-style." It has included dropping off clothing donations, laundry service, picking up trash and helping people and families work out the next steps to secure a stable living situation.

"Our case managers are also working with individuals that are staying at the hotels to identify permanent solutions," she said. "Now that we've started to get our feet under us, [we're] figuring out these new operations and this new normal [and] starting to build those relationships with people that are in this temporary housing situation to identify safe and stable options, which will in turn create openings for more individuals that need the temporary housing"

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Since mid-March, Connections has arranged for 41 children and 148 adults to move into 132 rooms at a pair of local hotels, which the nonprofit's staff have declined to identify publicly out of concerns for the privacy and safety of the housing program's participants. Kouba said the city is picking up the full cost of 64 rooms at one of the hotels and had negotiated a discounted rate for 40 rooms at another hotel.

The nonprofit also converted the upstairs hall at Lake Street Church to a 20-bed emergency shelter that follows Centers for Disease Control guidelines on social distancing.

And through partnerships with local restaurants that provide discounted or partially donated food, Connections has delivered more than 500 meals a day.

According to Connections staff, restaurants offering discounts include Bagel Art, Candlelite Chicago, Curt's Cafe, Fat Shallot, Feast & Imbibe, Found/The Barn Steakhouse, Gigio's, Hecky's, Prairie Grass Café, Protein Bar & Kitchen, Osteria Via Stato.

NaKorn and Koi are donating a portion of the meals. Food from Backyard Grill is being covered by Gratitude Generation, which is partially covering the cost of food from La Principal, whose owner's son picking up the tab as part of his mitzvah project, according to Kouba.

"They've been really generous," she said. "To be able to support their business, while also feeding the individuals in the hotels has been really mutually beneficial."

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Connections continues to offer daily drop-in services, including food, showers, basic supplies and assistance. Visits to the Connections food pantry have doubled following the governor's stay-at-home order, according to the nonprofit.

The additional cost of Connections' stepped-up services is about $12,000-a-day, according to Kouba. The group has received significant support from the Evanston Community Foundation, she said, and a small group of individual donors has committed $250,000 and challenged others to match that amount. Kouba said additional contributions could help secure additional space, staff, volunteers and supplies.

"We did not really take a moment to pause, we just said, 'Yes,' and started doing it," Kouba said. "We've been lucky to have the community rise to support us with all these efforts."