As Ann Holcomb prepares to walk her fifth Chicago Walk for Homeless Youth and Families on Oct. 21, she remembers that her own desperate struggle with homelessness took place when she was 23, despite a college education and a middle-class background.
That was 10 years ago. She came home from work one day to find her landlord had evicted her and impounded her property because of what Holcomb says were false charges that she owed money for damages to the apartment she leased. She spent six weeks living on streets, sleeping in bus stations and on city park benches before she was able to pull her life together and find a permanent residence. Still, Holcomb says it took her five years to recover from the on-the-streets experience.
It also compelled her to volunteer for the walk. She became more and more involved, helping plan the event. This year she chairs the walk for the second year in a row; her co-chair this year is Ellyn Harris, director of development at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
Both women assert that homeless youths have special problems that demand immediate resolution. “Unless the cycle of homelessness is broken, today’s homeless youth will be tomorrow’s homeless adults,” Harris says.
“An estimated 25,000 homeless youth live in Illinois with 10,000 in Chicago,” Holcomb says. “Yet there are few programs to eliminate homelessness among youth, there are not enough shelters to take care of them, and there are not enough prevention programs to eliminate the problems of youths in the home.”
The 10-kilometer walk, in its fifth year, is sponsored by Unitarian Universalist Social Concerns, a volunteer group that sprouted from the Unitarian Universalist Church but then extended to other religions.
Each year half the proceeds raised from the walk are extended to a “special project” organization. In 1994, $13,000 raised from 109 walkers went to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, which has operated since 1980. Its mission is to create, research and implement programs that foster affordable housing and to address problems of homelessness.
Because of ground-breaking advancements against homelessness and especially homelessness among youth, the coalition was selected as the special project funds recipient again this year.
Working with the Cook County Assessor’s Office, the coalition got taxes on Single Room Occupancy hotels reduced from 33 to 16 percent. “That significant reduction made SRO’s more affordable for those at risk of becoming homeless. SRO’s are frequently the last stop before hitting the streets,” Harris says.
After a two-year campaign, the coalition won legalization of shelters for homeless minors in 1989. Previously, it was a misdemeanor to shelter kids under 18.
Most recently, the coalition completed a landmark study, “Alone After Dark,” which revealed facts about homelessness among youth that Harris says are reversing common misconceptions. The study was funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Holcomb now works as an education and advocacy coordinator at the Interfaith Council, an eight-year-old organization that was formed by several churches to respond to problems of homelessness. The council will share the other half of the proceeds from the walk with four other organizations that provide shelters, warming centers and advocacy programs for homeless youth, will split the other half of proceeds from the walk.
Holcomb expects 250 to 300 volunteers to sign up for this year’s walk and hopes to raise something in the helpful neighborhood of $25,000.
Those interested in walking or volunteering for the Oct. 21 event can contact: Interfaith Council, Chicago Walk For Homeless Youth and Families, 1448 E. 52nd St. Box 144, Chicago, Ill., 60615, 312-568-8109.
