According to Gay Liberation Network co-founder Andy Thayer, on Dec. 23 the homeless shelter in Uptown's Preston Bradley Center ( operated by Northside Housing and Support Services ) will close, leaving the 72 people who relied on it even for a single night's respite from Chicago's already brutal winter facing the holidays robbed of another of the neighborhood's dwindling options to keep out of the cold.
UPDATE, Ald. says shelter will not stay open at least thru the holidays, see www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Cappleman-Northside-Shelter-to-stay-open-/57567.html .
As the aftermath of the state budget impasse continues to leave closed or severely diminished advocacy organizations as casualties, the shelter and home of the People's Church of Chicago was short of the $100,000 needed to stay open.
But, for Thayer, while the players in the impasse share responsibility, the greater fault for putting 72 lives in jeopardy lies squarely on the shoulders of 46th Ward Ald. James Cappleman.
"We have a gay alderman who is shutting down one of the few gay-friendly shelters in the city." Thayer told Windy City Times. "What could be more ridiculous than that?"
On Oct. 3, protestors had converged on the alderman's office. His taking action to keep the shelter open was high on their list of demands.
"We asked Cappleman directly to introduce a bill to make up the $100,000 funding gap," Thayer said.
Cappleman's answer was a blunt "no."
At the time, he offered no reason, leading many activists to suspect that he has the same development plans for the historic building as, for example, 2015's $5 million sale of Graeme Stewart Elementary School.
The adjacent mall was then cleared of the homeless individuals who had used it to erect their tents.
Uptown's ongoing gentrification was given a boost in June of this year when the Chicago City Council voted almost $16 million in TIF funds to develop the former Cuneo Hospital building in to a luxury high risesomething Cappleman supported despite the pleas of advocacy groups such as ONE Northside to instead create affordable housing.
Thayer believes the West Lawrence shelter is on Cappleman's hit list.
"His real estate developer buddies have been hounding The People's Church to try and flip the property." Thayer said. "If you think people shouldn't freeze in the cold and die, you have to hold Cappleman to account for this."
It was one of the aims of a Dec. 13 press conference held outside the shelter organized by Uptown Tent City, North Side Action for Justice and a number of the neighborhoods homeless residents.
Northside Action for Justice member and affordable housing advocate Marc Kaplan called a refusal to help the shelter stay alive a "political decision."
"The last two years basically the mayor and his aldermen moved hell and high water to give $15.8 million to JDL [Developers] to develop luxury housing in which one-bedroom apartments rent for over $2,000-a-month," Kaplan said. "Imagine what we could do with $15.8 million in terms of even subsidizing housing for low-income people or building new housing."
In a statement following the news conference given to the Chicago Tribune, Cappleman claimed to have no knowledge of the $100,000 shortfall.
Windy City Times was present during the Oct. 3 protest during which both Thayer and Kaplan informed the alderman about the crisis facing the shelter.
Cappleman told Windy City Times that he believes, "the Uptown area continues to have the most subsidized housing for those residents that have little or no income."
The closure of the West Lawrence shelter further heightens an increasing dearth between available beds and the sheer number of youth and adults experiencing homelessness in the citya number the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless last estimated at 128,848 people to 1,701 emergency shelter beds.
At present, Cappleman's 46th Ward Economic Plan is missing from his website.
"Everyone has known since September that the shelter was going to close," Thayer said. "Aldermen can say all sorts of plastic things about caring about the homeless but, in reality, they are ruthless."
He added that the tent city viaducts in Uptown are packed from end-to-end.
"There's no room for any more people," Thayer asserted. "People are going to be forced to pitch tents elsewhere but, no matter where they set up, they are still going to face harassment."
There has yet to be any action on the part of City Council members to save the shelter
Thayer urged people to call Cappleman's office about this situation.
"Demand that he help facilitate a replacement shelter provider at the same location." Thayer said. "We not only need a replacement of the 72 shelter beds lost but a huge net increase in shelter beds and affordable housing."
A statement released by Cappleman's office read in part: "I am saddened that the organization at this location has decided to close. I had worked with the City to get Northside Housing to take it over in 2011 as soon as I found out that REST was closing, and in addition, increased bed capacity from 50 beds to 72."
"The executive director of Northside Housing, Richard Ducatenzeiler, told me that the organization was unable to raise an additional $100,000 needed for infrastructure improvements to run their shelter," Cappleman added. "Unfortunately I didn't know this until they had already decided to close and let their other funding lapse. Once I learned of the closing, I contacted the Department of Family Support Services Commissioner and the Mayor's Office to see about any options possible to keep them open. Additionally, I reached out to all of our state and federal electeds in the area to see what they could do to get additional funding."
Cappleman said even if an alderman could get $100,000 for this shelter, "it would still close because the shelter never applied for its remaining $300,000 to run the shelter; $100,000 would have done nothing without the other funds. … Even when I approached the executive director to try to get the $100,000, he told me he had already made up his mind that the shelter would close."
Windy City Times asked Cappleman's office if he would assist another nonprofit in taking over shelter operations from Northside.
The response, in it's entirety, was as follows: "Similar to the work [Cappleman] did to get Northside Housing at People's Church to replace REST that previously ran the shelter and closed, he has been working with the Department of Family and Support Services to find a new provider for the shelter at that space. I heard from DFSS that they have already approached other organizations, but the organizations refused to take it over. However, Alderman Cappleman is committed to keep approaching other organizations and pushing DFSS to do the same."
This story was updated Dec. 21 to include Cappleman's response.