Save the Date for the Next Great Party!

Mark your calenders now for this year's Taste of Fall tasting event!  We already have commitments from several of the vendors who were there last year including Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Wine & Bread and Cabot Creamery Cooperative.  This year's event promises to be even bigger and better than last year!  Stay tuned to this blog and the LPCS website for more details and to purchase tickets. 

Thank you volunteers!

As a volunteer driven organization, we depend so much on the dedication and passion of the many individuals and groups who so generously donate their time and talents to Lincoln Park Community Shelter. And though we appreciate their efforts every day, National Volunteer Week is a time that really allows us to reflect and be thankful for these priceless people who make the mission of empowering homeless men and women to make life changes an attainable goal. Our volunteers are fun. They make our job fun. They are passionate, and their passion translates into the effort they put forth.

So to the committee members, meal makers, tutors, track activity teachers and all the other men and women who have become a part of our community, we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you!

Experiencing a "Point in Time"

On a clear, chilly, January night, we piled into cars, armed with clipboards, flashlights, boxes of hats and gloves, and questions. Questions for homeless folks we would find on the street about demographics and their various needs.We drove around Chicago, peering out the car windows, searching for people to count and survey for the biannual “Point In Time” info gathering. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires all cities seeking federal funding for homeless programs to conduct a count of the homeless population. This will estimate needed allocations for homeless services. Though counterintuitive, we had an incentive to find as many currently homeless people as possible. We wanted to gather the most accurate number, so that homeless folks aren’t “short changed” when it comes to allocating funding for our city. 

I was assigned to a portion of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, along with two other Point In Time volunteers. Dozens of volunteers gathered at headquarters around Chicago, and were dispatched all over the city, with the intent of surveying every square inch. My group and I weaved carefully through the pristine streets of Lincoln Park, filling our map with highlighter marks as we turned each corner. It felt ridiculous to be searching for homeless folks down streets lined with fancy cars perched in front of million dollar homes. I doubted that there would be much tolerance for people to be “loitering” on these streets, and I doubted that people who are homeless would feel comfortable on these streets anyway. Not surprisingly, we found one person; he was speedily wheeling a shopping cart down a busy street and preferred not to be surveyed.

Our count after 4 hours of searching: 1.  

Demographic info collected and warm winter clothing distributed: 0.

This was not what any of us novice Point In Time volunteers expected when we signed up weeks earlier. I had envisioned being on a street such as Lower Wacker, having worthwhile conversations with maybe 25 homeless individuals, collecting valuable info, distributing needed supplies. You know, like how it would be in a movie.

As we are constantly reminded in social service work: there is always more to the story. Are there a number of individuals sleeping outside in Lincoln Park who we missed? When other Northside counting groups reported similarly low numbers, can we be sure that our tally is anywhere near accurate? What made the man we encountered on Clybourn wary of interacting with us? Can he be reached with services? Does he want services? A most interesting question: does he need services? Can it be deduced that folks staying outside on a below zero night in January (presumed to be a time when only the “truly” homeless are out), are challenged with a mental illness? Is enough being done to care for our homeless neighbors? Should we care?

As we drove back to headquarters at 2am, we surmised whether or not we had just done a service or a disservice to the currently and future homeless. This was the major take-away for me. There are people currently feeling snug and secure in their houses who will become homeless. Will Chicago be prepared to serve them? 

 --Katie McNamara, Case Management Intern

Fight Homelessness. Celebrate Hope.

Help us end homelessness!

Save the date for the best party of the year!  Last year's event raised almost $130,000 for LPCS programs.  This year's event is shaping up to be even better than last year!  Join us on Friday, April 29th at one of Chicago's most unique venues, Architectural Artifacts located on Ravenswood Ave.  Enjoy fantastic food, signature cocktails, and delicious desserts while browsing and bidding on the live and silent auction.  We've got some amazing auction items up for grabs including a house in Key West for a week, an instant wine cellar, a decadent garden party, autographed White Sox memorabilia, theater tickets, hotel stays, and more!  Keep an eye on the website for updates!


For tickets and more information, visit: http://lpcsonline.org/events/metamorphosis

Community Comes Together to Celebrate LPCS Volunteers

Staff and volunteers mingle before the show

Last night, LPCS staff, volunteers, guests, and Graduates came together to celebrate all of the work that volunteers do for LPCS.  It was a fun-filled evening of food, conversation, and cabaret at the Greenhouse Theater!  Attendees were treated to a performance of classic songs, Broadway tunes, and modern classics by James Edward Dauphin and Anita Kallen and were accompanied by Christie Chiles Twillie on piano.  All three of the performers generously donated their time.  Before the show, volunteers and guests mingled while munching on a variety of snacks. After the show, volunteers were treated to a table full of delicious desserts!

Every year, volunteers donate nearly 18,000 hours of service to LPCS.  That is the equivalent of adding 8 1/2 full-time staff members to LPCS!  Volunteers help teach life-skills classes, make and serve meals, work at the front desk, serve on a variety of committees, stay overnight, and serve in a variety of other positions.  Without the continued support of LPCS volunteers, our programs wouldn't be nearly as successful as they are.  All of the hard work that volunteers put in translates directly to our guests.  Thank you LPCS volunteers for all of your time, energy, and dedication!

A huge thank you to Popcorn Palace, Potbelly Sandwich Co., Starbucks Coffee, and Swirlz Cupcakes for generously donating food and drink for the event.  Thank you too to the Greenhouse Theater for donating the space.  And of course,  a huge thank you as well to the performers without whom we couldn't have had a show!  Last, but certainly not least, thanks to the Volunteer Committee who helped organize the whole night.  Thank you everyone!

Learning through Teaching

Imaginarium, 2010

I first heard about LPCS when I was a student at School of the Art Institute in Spring 2010.  Our class worked with some of the guests for several weeks on a Community Art Project entitled Imaginarium, which we then displayed in a one-night show. We worked together, on separate panels that were finally interlocked to make a free-standing sculpture. Each piece was different, and couldn’t stand up on its own, but together they made a wonderful thing, much like each one of us in our community.  I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but found the guests to be so friendly, eager to learn and try new things, expressing themselves through different visual media, I felt privileged to be a part of it. The staff and guests are so welcoming, some of my classmates and I didn’t want our "Art Class Wednesdays" to end, so we continued them weekly throughout the summer.

Now I teach it one day a month, and it is one of the most gratifying things I have ever done: for example, when a guest who claims “oh, but I’m not an artist,” jumps in anyway and tries, and ends up creating something beautiful and unique, the smile on their face is priceless. Even though it takes a bit of planning to balance time for my own homework and hunt for art supplies, I love the friendly creative energy at LPCS so much, working with the guests in these art classes is absolutely worth it. I am honored to have been invited back to participate with the LPCS guests and students in this year’s SAIC Community Art Practices class, and look forward to the new amazing work we will create. We look forward to meeting you at our truly unique show in May, so mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 4th!

--Leona, SAIC student and LPCS volunteer

Our Community, part 2

On Wednesday, as I sat warm and dry inside my apartment, marveling at the change in the weather (what a difference a day makes, eh?), I saw something wonderful happen.  About 10 people in the building across the street from me, gathered together, snow shovels in hand, and worked as a community to clear their parking lot (complete with a six-foot snow drift in the middle).  It was wonderful to see so many people come together as a community to accomplish such a feat. Wonderfully, the same thing was happening right here in Lincoln Park!  One the neighbors who lives just down the street from LPCS gathered up shovels from other neighbors, gathered some guests up, and a shovelin' they went!  According to one neighbor, "it was a great day and we had fun.  We also did a great thing for the neighborhood!"  Thanks to everyone for helping make Lincoln Park easier and safer to get around!