Interim Housing
The path out of homelessness often includes a stay in a temporary housing environment, such as “interim housing.” This short-term stay is a critical component of a comprehensive, system-wide approach because people experiencing a housing crisis or fleeing an unsafe situation need access to a safe place to stay while they secure permanent housing.
Housing Forward's Interim Housing program provides short-term (90 to 120 days) private accommodations for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. With a stable place to stay addressed, the program has a two-prong focus of assisting clients in making connections to housing resources and ending their homelessness as soon as possible; and, helping clients to build great stability by addressing the issues that contributed to homelessness. We provide housing-oriented wraparound services, case management, pre-tenancy services, on-site health assessments, and income supports either through employment and/or entitlement benefit supports.
Housing Forward’s Interim Housing program is located in a former boutique hotel immediately north of downtown Oak Park. We leased the property in September 2020, as part of our response to the COVID-19 crisis. Leasing an entire 65-room hotel is a move that follows a national trend of nonprofit organizations that provide homeless services utilizing empty hotel space to safely house individuals and families experiencing homelessness, who were among the most vulnerable to a global health pandemic. In December 2023, we received funding from Cook County that allowed us to purchase this property. In 2025, we will begin a complete renovation and retrofitting the property to make it the state-of-the-art, permanent location of this program.
The property is also the location of The RISE Center of Cook County medical respite services for persons experiencing homelessness. To learn more, click here.