Project NOW is participating in a Rural Illinois 100-Day Challenge on Homelessness taking place in Mercer County and three other rural communities.
The 100-Day Challenge calls on cities and counties to take immediate action to address homelessness, according to a Wednesday release.
RE!NSTITUTE, in partnership with the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness and SHPA (Supportive Housing Providers Association), has been brought on to assist in facilitating a Rural 100-Day Challenge with the four communities.
Each of these jurisdictions, with the support of a RE!NSTITUTE coach, will rapidly assess how things are working in their jurisdiction, set an ambitious goal on the number of people they will house in 100 days, figure out what needs to change in their current processes to achieve that goal, implement their 100-Day Challenge and finally lock in the lessons learned to drive lasting change, the release said.
RE!NSTITUTE has done a similar project in a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Penn. Read the results HERE.
Ron Lund, Project NOW’s director of community services, says his team is working with many partners to both identify people experiencing homelessness and landlords who could possibly house them. The 100-Day Challenge began late last month and so far 33 people have been identified in Mercer County.
Lund says his plan is to identify 100 unhoused individuals and connect 50 of them to safe and stable housing. Partners in this challenge include:
- Mercer County Health Department
- Mercer County Sheriff’s Department
- Genesis Medical Center, Aledo
- Mercer County Better Together
- Mercer County Housing Authority
- Mercer County Senior Center
- Local School Districts
The three other communities involved in the 100-Day Challenge are in south central Illinois, Will County and central Illinois.
Across the country, communities have demonstrated the impact of 100-Day Challenges to accelerate efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness, tackle chronic and veteran homelessness, and drive lasting changes within their homelessness services systems, Project NOW said.
“We are encouraged by the urgency of this initiative,” Project NOW executive director Dwight Ford said in Wednesday’s release. “Far too often people experiencing rural homelessness are overlooked and underserved.
“The context is different, but the pain is common; trauma, instability, fear, and vulnerability,” he said. “We are committed to building partnerships to find a better way forward in anchoring families in stabile and affordable housing.”
There has been a task force in Mercer County focused on housing for two years, and collaboration is underway to bring agencies, systems, and community leaders together to help accomplish a common goal that’s identified:
Rural homelessness is a unique situation that many do not understand. It can look different than urban homelessness, but it is not any less a challenge, according to a program summary. Mercer County does not have a homeless shelter for its homeless.
Those experiencing homelessness are many times living out of their car, in a garage or storage unit, staying on a friend’s couch, or when the weather is nice- camping in a tent or camper.
Agencies have identified individuals who have sought assistance fleeing domestic violence or are left homeless after eviction. The hospital has individuals who have been discharged with no place to call home. Many times these situations include children, and the impacts that these stressors have on the family can be detrimental. This is where this project comes in, according to the program summary.
This project is focused on identifying the need for more resources for people facing rural homelessness in our county, streamlining the resources that already exist, and spreading awareness to help those who need it most.
