Caption by Ashmar Mandou

Supporters of the Humboldt Park tent encampment rallied together on Wednesday for a press conference urging the City of Chicago to halt the upcoming plans to clear the area. The encampment is located in Humboldt Park and the city plans to remove it starting Friday morning. “Closing off public space and forcing people to move to another location is not a solution to homelessness. While some people living in Humboldt Park have been connected to housing options, many have not,” said Ali Simmons, Senior Case and Outreach Worker with Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness.  After clearing it out, Chicago police and the Park District would enforce municipal codes that prohibit overnight stays and tents in park. Alderperson Jessie Fuentes (24th ward) said those “who are displace would be offered access to support services as well as the option to move into housing or shelters with fewer rules of entry.

“I am grateful that I’ve been connected to housing but that has not come through yet and it is not going to come through by December 6,” said Daisy Vasquez, a resident of Humboldt Park, “I don’t want to leave the Humboldt Park area. This is the only neighborhood I really know, and my hospital and doctors are in this area.”  Humboldt Park is a site that is well known among the unhoused and service providers who work with them. “Displacing people disconnects outreach workers at Heartland Alliance Health and other agencies from working to house them. When people are in the park, outreach workers know where to find them,” said Ryan Spangler with Heartland Alliance Health. “Some people being displaced have housing placements, but outreach workers need to connect with them over a period of months before actually moving them into housing. Others who have not been connected to housing are in even more need of these crucial services.” The city will move to a “One System Initiative” for addressing the problem of homelessness starting Jan. 1, 2025.