The goals of the Case Management Program at Franciscan Outreach Association are to reach out to our guests to provide the practical assistance and encouragement that our guests need to build a better life. Case managers connect guests with resources and services that can help them overcome the obstacles in their way.  We currently provide case management services at the Marquard Center, Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, and at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago’s Loop. 

 Update: September 23, 2011

As of the end of August, 2011, the case management services remained steady and quite similar to 2011 with the following exception. We added a second case manager at the shelter in February of 2011. Together, the two shelter case managers, Secondiano Redento and Curtis Cotten, have seen 388 guests in 2011. They have placed 16 of those guests into housing. They work with all shelter guests and do their best to prioritize finding housing for the Interim Housing participants.

 Case Management Charts for 2010

 The goals of the Case Management Program at Franciscan Outreach Association are to reach out to our guests to provide the practical assistance and encouragement that our guests need to build a better life. Case managers connect guests with resources and services that can help them overcome the obstacles in their way.  We currently provide case management services at the Marquard Center, Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, and at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago’s Loop. 

~ Sites of Engagement and Percentage of Guests Engaged in Case Management ~

 Clients were engaged at our two emergency service sites, the Marquard Center Soup Kitchen and Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph Shelter, and at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago’s Loop.  We are the only agency that provides case management to the homeless in downtown Chicago. We added a full-time case manager at Franciscan House shelter in October of 2010. A second full-time case manager will be added in 2011.  Many of our guests also receive services from other sources, including mental health care providers and veterans’ services.  

Sites of Engagement and Percentage of Guests Engaged in Case Management, 2010
	Unduplicated number of case management clients	# Unduplicated guests receiving any services at site	Percentage of guests engaged in case management
Franciscan House	190	1,714	11.09%
Marquard Center	695	2,029	34.25%
St. Peter’s Church	464	464	100.00%
Total	1,349	4,225	31.93%

 ~ Number of Case Management Contacts ~ 

 ~ Issues ~

 The following chart summarizes the issues raised by case management clients.  The number of issues exceeds the number of contacts because clients often need help with more than one issue during each meeting. 

 ~ The Streets-to-Home Initiative ~

 With ongoing financial support from the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, our Case Management Program developed the Streets-to-Home Initiative in 2006.  This program provides intensive case management services to some of our most motivated clients so that they move into and remain in appropriate permanent housing.  As part of the program, clients receive weekly, individual case management sessions and transit passes.  

 In addition to financial support for case management, the City provides housing vouchers for efficiency apartments located in area YMCAs to 26 of our most motivated case management clients.  The Streets-to-Home case managers also offer regular group sessions and quarterly outings for these 26 guests so that they may build a support network among their peers.  In 2010, we offered two life skills groups and one community group per month for those individuals participating in our program.  Here is a breakdown of the total number of clients attending the groups throughout the year:  

Since the Streets-to-Home Initiative began in 2006, a total of 70 of our clients have received housing vouchers from the City.  Of this number, 46 have “graduated,” that is moved out of the YMCA-based apartments and into an apartments for which they are paying all or a portion of the rent.  Of these 46 formerly homeless individuals, 37 are still in appropriate, permanent housing.  Of the nine others, one has returned to the streets, two have been incarcerated, two have been permanently hospitalized, two have passed away, and two have not kept in touch with us.

 ~ Permanent Housing ~ 

The following chart shows the number of individuals that accessed permanent housing through our case management department. These are people whom we’ve helped move off the streets and into stable housing. As was mentioned above, those in our Streets-to-Home Initiative receive follow up services to help them stay housed. The others are invited to return to us if they experience any difficulties.

Persons placed in permanent housing in 2010
	Male	Female	Total
Streets-To-Home Initiative	31	18	50
General Case Management – Marquard Center	38	5	43
General Case Management – Franciscan House of Mary  and Joseph (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010)	2	2	4
General Case Management – St. Peter’s Church	1	0	1
Total	73	25	98

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ~ Case Management Wednesday Bridge Program ~

 While our Case Management Program is focused on providing one-on-one attention to individual guests, we also host a weekly walk-in day program on Wednesdays called the Bridge Program. The program starts with a motivational group meeting at 10:00 am. Afterward, clients can meet with individual case managers, see a nurse, get tested for HIV, or talk with a lawyer.  Guests can stay in the building from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. We also offer coffee and cookies.  The total attendees for 2010 were 2,206. Below is a breakdown of attendance by month: 

Month	Total Guests	Month	Total Guests
January	175	July	138
February	217	August	115
March	220	September	191
April	186	October	187
May	182	November	165
June	187	December	243
		Total	2,206

 The discussion group is designed to encourage new guests to see our case managers and to create a familiar and comfortable environment for them.  Discussion topics include homeless survival skills, support systems, mental health concerns, and domestic violence issues. 

 ~ Wednesday  Discussion Group Participants ~ 

 In an effort to meet our guests’ medical and legal needs, we have developed collaborations with other agencies and professionals to meet with them and fulfill these needs.  The following are charts reflecting numbers of guests they served each month. 

~ Clients seeing Heartland Health Outreach Nurses ~

During the Wednesday Bridge Program 

~ Clients seeing Working for Togetherness staff for HIV & STD testing ~

During the Wednesday Bridge Program 

~ Legal Services provided during Wednesday Bridge Program ~

 In 2010, attorney Taylor Hammond volunteered his time to help our guests with a variety of legal.  He was on hand at least once a month during our Wednesday Case Management Bridge Program.  He addressed the following issues with our guests: 

Legal issue	Number of times issue raised
Expungement	10
Social Security Claims	4
Accident	2
Identity Theft	2
Bankruptcy	1
Civil Rights/Unlawful Arrest	1
Debt Collection	1
Eviction	1
Family Law	1
Probate	1
Property Issues	1
Small Claims	1
Worker’s Compensation	1
General	9
Total Issues	36

 ~ Case Management Staff ~ 

In 2010 our case management staff positions included a Director of Case Management Services, two and one-half Streets to Home Case Managers, and one and one one-half full-time General Case Managers.  Our Director of Case Management Services is Nick Benedetto; our full-time Streets to Home Case Managers are Greg Foster and Rachel Frey; our half-time Streets-to-Home Case Manager and half-time General Case Manager is Alberto Mendoza; and our full-time General Case Manager is Secondiano Redento.  Nick and Alberto are based at the Marquard Center; Greg and Rachel at St. Peter’s Church in the Loop; and Secondiano is based at the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph overnight shelter.  A second full-time case manager will be added at the shelter in early 2011.