7454 N. Clark St., Chicago. (Google Maps)

As Evanston officials debate whether to approve continued operation of the Margarita Inn homeless shelter downtown, Chicago officials have approved a new 72-bed shelter just south of the Evanston city line.

Block Club Chicago reports Chicago’s Zoning Board of Appeals has approved the application of North Side Housing and Supportive Services for the men’s shelter at 7464 N. Clark St.

The group currently operates a 50-bed shelter at a Super 8 motel at 7300 N. Sheridan Road, one of only two men’s shelters on Chicago’s north side.

The Rogers Park shelter plan had the support of Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) but drew opposition from some neighbors.

Shelter officials say they hope to open the new location by this summer.

Bill Smith is the editor and publisher of Evanston Now.

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5 Comments

  1. This North Side Housing and Supportive Services facility will of course be a “low – barrier” shelter, similar to the Margarita Inn. Per their financials, the majority of their funding is via HUD and other government agencies, which require operation via the tragically flawed “Housing First” and “Do No Harm” models. The neighbors are going to *deeply* regret their support of such a facility…

    Their financials:

    https://www.northsidehousing.org/transparency-1

    And from the “Where have we heard this before?” department:

    https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/08/03/rogers-park-homeless-shelter-proposal-wins-haddens-approval-after-drop-in-center-plan-scrapped/

    “ROGERS PARK — A proposal to move a men’s shelter from a temporary motel setting into its own building in Rogers Park has earned the support of Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) after changes were made to the plan…

    North Side Housing and Supportive Services’ proposal to open a 72-bed shelter at 7464 N. Clark St. got Hadden’s support after plans for a “drop-in center” at the facility were removed, Hadden announced at a community meeting Monday…

    The alderman’s support for the shelter comes after a month of intense neighborhood debate on the topic, one that featured an “intentional misinformation campaign” against the project…

    Hadden said the shelter proposal faced an “intentional misinformation campaign,” one that she sought to combat throughout the process so neighbors could make an informed decision on the project…

    Previously, Hadden has posted on social media seeking to clear up “misinformation” on the project, including that the shelter will attract unhoused people from Uptown…

    “We’re living in a time when misinformation can create a pretty toxic environment,” Hadden said. “At the heart of a functioning democracy is having good information that people have access to to make their decisions.”

    Respectfully,
    Gregory Morrow – Evanston 4th Ward resident and Margarita Inn “neighbor”

  2. The same is coming north of the border, its unstopable , afforadable housing, housing the un housed and dealing with what comes with living in the cities. Its a nation wide thing so people should prepare and get used to it. The movment is unstoppable

  3. At least the purple line stop at Howard is very close to this new shelter so that the 72 men staying there have easy access to get to Evanston where they can prey on our gullible, naive, social justice warrior residents.

  4. My gods, there is a lot of hate in these comments, especially coming from supposedly progressive Evenston.

    *smh*

  5. Well said James Gaynes, well said! And this isn’t a movement, it is being a good caring neighbor and human being. Oh….something some find hard to fathom, I guess.

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