Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson, is planning to hire the city’s inaugural homelessness officer for the city. This is the first position in an urban city to do something of this magnitude.
Planting the Seed to Home Security
The Mayor already had plans this year to increase real estate transfer task sales on properties of over a million dollars. This is one of the earliest actions taken to use funding to stop homelessness.
In January, a study was conducted by the City’s Department of Family and Support Services. They found 6,139 citizens are experiencing homelessness and ended up in vacant lots, unsheltered areas shelters, encampments, and or shelters.
These events laid the foundation for the new role.
When Brandon Johnson got word of the story, the mayor knew it was time for immediate action. “It’s long overdue to provide solutions for stable, permanent, and affordable housing for more than 68,000 of our unhoused neighbors.”
What is a ‘Homelessness Officer?’
The role of a homelessness officer is responsible as the go-to when it comes to the ongoing homelessness situation and housing insecurity in Chicago according to the Mayor.
They must be able to foster great policy and have good operation coordination across departments and sister agencies all over the city. Finally, this person must have strong leadership skills to promote improvement effects.
Brandon Johnson said, “By establishing a CHO (Chief Homelessness Officer), the city of Chicago will have a contact to coordinate efforts and pressure the government to provide shelter for all people.”
A Group Effort
Emily Krisciunas, the Executive Director of Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness, took kindly to the Mayor’s actions. She says the role will “help advance sustainable, long-term solutions to expand access to housing for all and help end homelessness.”
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, another organization responsible for the idea of the role, celebrated the announcement on social media. The post said, “The Chief Homelessness Officer is needed now more than ever. We look forward to working together to prevent and end homelessness.”
As the Mayor looks to hire the first-ever officer, the real estate transfer tax is still up for debate. The City Council must approve of the tax during the March 2024 primary elections. When approved, a new tax rate is set, and creates a special fund for financing homelessness prevention programs.
Written By Daylontie Jasper
Sources:
WGNTV: Mayor Johnson Signs Order to Establish City’s Chief Homelessness Officer; By Andy Koval
CBS NEWS: Mayor Brandon Johnson Chicago Chief Homelessness Officer; By Todd Feurer
Fox32 Chicago: Brandon Johnson Establishes Chicago’s First Chief Homelessness Officer; By Emmanuel Camarillo
Feature Image Courtesy of TNS
Inset Image Courtesy of Thomas Quine‘s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
