May 25, 2007 to July 17, 2008

March 14, 2008 - Get involved! Events, New Wish list items, Volunteer Opportunity

Here's a fun way to get involved! If you will be in Chicago's Loop on Monday, March 17 - St Patrick's Day, join us at 10:30 am at Boardman's Kitchen in the NBC Tower, 455 City Front Plaza Drive, 1st Floor (Columbus & Illinois,  just East of the Tribune Tower, parking on Illinois & Columbus).  Click on the image at right for a larger view. Some of the proceeds will go to us!

Do you like art? Come to the Second Annual Art from the Heart Event, right here at the Marquard Center on Saturday, April 5 at 7:30 pm. For more info, go to our Art from the Heart Page.

Can you help us buy something we need? We've updated our Wish List with a few new items:

                 - a cargo van for making food pick ups

                 - two new or gently used dryers

                 - a stove for the Marquard Center

                  - chairs for the soup kitchen

                  - sponsors for community building events for our Streets to Home guests at $25 per monthly event of $250 per quarterly event

See our Wish List for more details

And finally, we have a volunteer opportunity for a relief receptionist at our Marquard Center on March 19, 20, the morning of the 21, 24, and 25. Contact Diana if you can volunteer.

For February 1, 2008 - Employers and Mentors Wanted!

Do you know of any employers who would be willing to give a graduate of our proposed jobs program a chance?

We're putting together a Transitional Jobs Program for our Crew Staff at the shelter. Right now, our Crew Staff are 8 guests who help us with the work of the shelter. They gain skills in maintenance, food handling, and reception. They stay with us 24 hours a day in exchange for their work and a small stipend.

We are in the process of converting this program into a full-scale Transitional Jobs program that would include such elements as...

• "soft skills" training (being on-time, conflict resolution skills, professional grooming, communications skills, budgeting, etc)

• "hard skills" training (food handler's certificate, maintenance skills, reception skills, basic computer use, etc.)

• short term jobs at our shelter at minimum wage for six months with required accountability to supervisors and target job performance objectives - this is a real job with us. We will dismiss anyone who doesn't perform up to standards.

• support to address any barriers to employment

• assistance in finding sustainable housing for after they graduate from the program

• job placement upon graduation and follow up supports

We hope to receive funding from Chicago's Mayor's Office of Workforce Development, foundations, and individual donors. To begin the process, we need employers who are willing to commit to hiring graduates of our program as entry level space is available. Employers must be accessible to public transportation to and from the shelter.

For basic information on the Transitional Jobs program model, see the website of the Transitional Jobs Network at  http://www.transitionaljobs.net/About%20TJ/AboutTJ.htm.  We would offer the "Individual Placement" model. For basic program design details, see http://www.transitionaljobs.net/About%20TJ/Program%20Design.pdf

Employers would also interview program graduates for the job and make the final decision.  Would you be willing to designate one or more entry level jobs for a program graduate?

We also need individuals who are interested in mentoring participants. Are you interested in supporting an individual on his or her journey out of homelessness?

If so, we'd like to talk to you. Contact Fr. Larry or Diana Faust for more information.

For January 3, 2008 - How's Business? 2007 Food and Shelter Stats

If you've been to the Marquard Center in the last few years you may have noticed the gentrification around here. We're continually on the lookout for a change in the demand for our meal service - we don't want to spend our time and money if it's not needed. On the other hand, if we are doing good for people who need our help, we want to keep on helping them. So what were the facts?

           Dinners served at the Marquard Center in 2007:      45,948

           Average number of persons per night:    126

How does this compare to previous years?

So while the numbers go up and down a little over the years, they continue to demonstrate strong demand for our dinner service.

How was demand at the shelter? There are two ways to measure that - the number of Shelter Nights and the Turn-Away Rate. One Shelter Night is one person sleeping in a bed for one night - so if we had one night where we had 248 beds filled and the next night only 245 beds were filled, that would be a total of 493 shelter nights. The Turn-Away Rate is the number of times we had to turn a man or woman away because we were filled to capacity. 

        Shelter nights in 2007 - 90,019

        Turn-Away Rate - 1,661

How does this compare?

Demand at our shelter remains high. We had a record number of Turn-Aways in 2007. The monthly Turn-Away totals for 2007 were up and down. June at 306 was the highest number in our organization's history. Here are the numbers

Our 2007 numbers affirm our commitment to providing the basic services that keep our guests alive. At the same time we also strive to offer as much case management services as we can afford so that we can help those who are homeless to become un-homeless as quickly as possible. Your donations help on both fronts! We'll have an update on our case management services once the numbers become available. 

Are you looking to volunteer for an interesting event? We are seeking volunteers for our 2nd annual Art From the Heart event at the Marquard Center in April. For more info, go to our Art From the Heart page.

For December 19, 2007 - Watch the News Tonight for Edward Daniels!

A very special teen, Mr. Edward Daniels, a 16 year old at Chicago Military Academy who lives near our shelter, has been collecting blankets, hats, gloves, and scarves for the homeless for many months now.  He has appealed to members of his church, Lawndale Community Church, for donations and has been storing things in his home. He was featured on "Someone You should Know" by Harry Porterfield on Channel 7 last night. See http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/someone_you_should_know&id=5843321

Tonight he'll be bringing the items to our Marquard Center kitchen and the shelter. So watch the news for a report on this fine young man's charitable work among the homeless here at Franciscan Outreach!

Merry Christmas to all of you who donated to us or helped the homeless in any way this year.  You are part of that great and wonderful event that Christmas celebrates: the Incarnation.  With every bed number we give out and every clean bag of laundry or bus pass, you are announcing that the kingdom of God is real - that God's love has come to Earth in human form.  The hungry are fed.  The homeless are sheltered.  And those who are in hard times have someone to lead them to greener pastures.  Yes, the kingdom of God is here and it comes with a cup of soup!  Thank you for helping to make it a reality for the men and women who come to our doors.

For October 31 ~ Fast Financial Facts

Here are some fast financial facts about Franciscan Outreach...

How much does it cost to provide each unit of service to the homeless?

One night of shelter at Franciscan House for one person ~ $7.35

includes dinner, breakfast, showers, recovery groups, connections to case managers, visits from medical personnel, mental health outreach workers, use of mailing address, and more

One evening meal at the Marquard Center for one person ~ $7.55

includes showers, laundry, connections to case managers, visits by medical personnel, recovery groups, use of mailing address

Cost per day for each case management client ~ 53 cents. However, a better measure would be the cost per month of $16 or the cost per year of  $193.47, since we don't see every case management client every day.

How did we calculate these numbers?

  How much does it cost to help an average guest over the course of a year?  

 How much does it cost to run our programs each day?

 What is our percentage of Administrative costs?

Our total expenses in 2006 were $1,399,365. Administrative & Fundraising Expenses include the Executive Director’s salary, bookkeeping, and the development office personnel. These amounted to $346,383, or 24.7% of the total expenses. If we had to pay staff to do the work that the full-time volunteers do, the total cost of our programs in 2006 would have been $1,765,328 and the percentage of administrative cost would have gone down to 19.6 %.

 How do we calculate the program cost?  

 Did having full time volunteers help reduce program costs?

 We received the donated services from our full-time volunteers who come from around the world and the US to live with us and work with the homeless.  In 2006, full time volunteers provided 25,720 hours of service. At the $18.77 rate set by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this amounts to $482,764 in donated services from our full-time volunteers. Expenses connected with the volunteers (recruiter, stipends, room & board, transportation) were $116,801, so the net value of their services was $365,963.

We also received the donated services of approximately 2,500 different part time volunteers, most of whom served dinner at our dining room, and the services of 8 Crew Staff members who help us with the work at the shelter in exchange for room and board and a small stipend. We have not placed a monetary value on these services.

 How much income did we receive in 2006? 

 We have a broad base of support and don’t rely too much on any one source of income. We have grown steadily over the years. In 1998 our income was $609,728. The budget for 2008 is $1,272,915.  

For September 18 - Sun Times Columnist Mark Brown writes about Turn-Aways at  Franciscan House

Mark Brown does a good job of putting a human face on our Turn-away numbers.  So far this year (until Aug 31, 2007), we've turned a woman away 282 times. In 2005, we had turned away 184 women by the same date.  The 2007 number is 153% of the 2005 number.

The problem of too many homeless persons and not enough beds isn't just limited to women.  As of August 31 we had turned away a man on 1,054 occasions.  In 2005 by the same date we had turned away 853 men. The 2007 number is 123% of the 2005 number.

While our case managers are doing a good job of helping some of our guests into more appropriate housing, we don't have enough case managers to help all those who want help. We have 7 case managers at our three sites and 3 mental health outreach workers. They help our guests with a wide range of issues, including mental health, jobs, housing, ID cards, and substance abuse programs. In 2006, they placed 117 persons into housing. 

We wish we could have more case managers for our shelter. We would like to have two more to work with the general population and two for a more intensive housing and job placement program for the "Crew Staff" guests who are gaining work experience doing routine work at our shelter. All that's standing in the way is the issue of salaries. Call Fr Larry if you think you can help.

August 10, 2007 - Where Have All the Homeless Gone?

In response to this morning's Sun-Times article about the state of homelessness in Chicago, Father Larry drafted and sent this letter to the editor:

According to the front page Sun Times article on Friday, August 10, 2007 by Fran Spielman, the homeless population in the Loop is dramatically decreasing.   This prompts the question, where have all the homeless gone.  I think I can tell you.   The efforts of Franciscan Outreach Association through their overnight shelter, Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, 2715 W. Harrison, reaches out to homeless people and offers a bed to 250 people every night of the year. On most nights those beds are filled.  Many nights, people are turned away for lack of room.   

In 2005, the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph accommodated 2,200 different people.  From year to year for the past five years the capacity rate on the 250 beds has been 98%.   Perhaps what is most telling about the amount of people who are homeless is the shelter’s experience of unmet need.   For the past five years the number of times that people are turned away each year has reached nearly a thousand times or more.  This year as of July 31, it was 1,222.  That is a 70% increase over last year.  In June alone the Turn-away number was 306 – almost as many as the total for all of 1998 of 333.

The August 10 Sun Times article expresses the definite move of a number of homeless people to affordable housing.  Franciscan Outreach Association participates in the Department of Housing’s Streets to Home Initiative with case management offices downtown at St. Peter’s Church.  Through this program, we have placed 26 persons into permanent housing.  However, the case mangers have a case load of over 200 homeless people who frequent the downtown area. Many of these people find shelter at Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, Pacific Garden Mission or Lower Wacker.  A number of people have found housing - the majority of homeless people have not.   

As Executive Director of a homeless services agency, I have personally seen no decline in the demand for basic homeless services.  There have been many good efforts to provide affordable housing for homeless people within the last 3 years.   But the units are too few and the hurdles for the vast majority of homeless people are too many and too great.  For example our case managers who work downtown indicate that many of the over 200 people that they see do not have access to housing due to criminal records. 

The perception that the article of August 10 article creates is that homelessness is decreasing.  Maybe people can say that because they are not looking at the right time and in the right places.   I think that a lot more affordable housing has to be built, a lot more funding for case management and supportive services has to be offered, and greater access to housing and employment has to move from a plan to a reality – all while not failing to provide the basic necessities of food and shelter for this very vulnerable segment of Chicago’s population.   

Fr. Larry Janezic OFM

Executive Director

Franciscan Outreach Association   

July 27, 2007 - Announcing the Fr. Tom Fratus Foundation

Who was Fr. Tom Fratus, OFM?

     A Franciscan friar who had a great love for the poor. The warm relationships he developed before his death on May 5, 2006 changed the lives of countless persons. He is warmly remembered by friends, family, his brother friars, students and teachers at Nazareth Academy, and parishioners at St. Peter's Church and other places for his humility, simplicity, and humor. He trusted Jesus in everything and found good in everyone.

     Fr. Tom's legacy continues through the Fr. Tom Fratus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that was established by a few of Fr Tom's friends so that his work of helping the poor could continue after his death. It supports Franciscan Outreach, one of his favorite charities. The Foundation helps the homeless in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, who has been quoted as saying:

              "Start by doing what is necessary

                    Next do what is possible

                          Suddenly you'll be doing the impossible"

       The first event of the Fr. Tom Fratus Foundation is a golf outing and dinner to be held on September 6, 2007 at Boulder Ridge Country Club, featuring special guest Michael Andretti. For info on the event go to www.franoutreach.org/golf.htm 

    There are several wonderful reflections about Fr. Tom on the web. Here they are...

• from St. Peter's Church in the Loop - the bulletin of May 21, 2006 http://www.stpetersloop.org/libraries/2/50.pdf

• from the Franciscan Friars of the Sacred Heart Province - the newsletter of May 11, 2006 http://www.thefriars.org/atp/ATP-060511.pdf

To make a donation to the Foundation in memory of Fr. Tom Fratus, click here. Please note that your donation will show up as going to our secure processor, Give Direct, on your credit card statement. 

For more information on the Foundation, contact Diana Faust at her first name and @franoutreach.org or (773) 278-6724.

WISH LIST UPDATE - We need two bunk beds for the guest rooms at the Marquard Center. The full time volunteers, who come to us from around the world and the US, want to  invite friends and family to visit them briefly at the Marquard Center, but we have only two extra beds in our volunteer quarters. Having bunk beds would increase that to four. They would cost $413 each, including mattresses. Is anyone interested in donating the cost of them? Contact Diana at 773-278-6724.

For May 25, 2007 ~ Volunteers Needed for the Shelter

Are you interested in helping the homeless?  We currently need volunteers at our shelter to serve soup and sandwiches from 7:45 pm to 9:30 pm. We need from one to three volunteers a night. Three works best if one of the volunteers is a man who can hand out mail in the men's dorm.

In June so far, we only have 13 of 30 days filled. We could also use another volunteer on the 7 days where only one persons is signed up. So check your calendar and sign up for an evening.

Although we could just put the soup and sandwiches out on the counter and have our guest take one themselves, we think it is nice to have someone greet the guests and offer them dinner. We like to think of it as welcoming someone home for the evening. So by volunteering, your whole reason for being there is to show love and concern for the homeless men who stay with us.  

If you'd like to volunteer, read the details at our Volunteer at the Shelter page, www.franoutreach.org/volatshelter.htm  You can see the link to the on-line calendar on the left side of that page. To sign up for a date, pick any date that doesn't have a name on it and use the form on the Volunteer at Shelter page. You'll be glad you did!

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