An estimated 12,000 unaccompanied youth experience homelessness in Chicago each year. Guided by research and community wisdom, we understand the benefit of housing solutions that meet the developmental, social, and emotional needs of young people.
Youth Advocacy
CCH mobilizes the Homeless Youth Committee, a statewide advocacy table focused on policy solutions for young people experiencing homelessness. Made up of 30+ youth-serving organizations, the committee advocates to increase funding for youth resources and remove barriers for young people accessing those services.
The Youth Committee helped secure funding for the first five youth shelters in Illinois (1986), passed legislation to allow unaccompanied minors to consent to their own non-emergency medical care (2014), and expanded SNAP eligibility to vocational-track community college students (2018).
Youth Organizing
CCH fosters youth leadership by educating young people on housing and homelessness issues and helping them develop new skills such as public speaking and lobbying. A CCH organizer engages young people at youth shelters and drop-in sites and develops a core group to help guide our youth advocacy focus at the state and city levels. Through this work, we aim to foster connections and empower young people to determine what issues matter most to them and develop their own solutions.
Youth Futures
CCH’s legal aid program, the Law Project , runs Youth Futures, a mobile clinic for youth ages 14-24. Youth Futures helps young people with pressing legal needs, including access to housing, health care, education, and public benefits. Legal staff offer extensive community outreach at schools, shelters, and drop-in centers to ensure legal aid connects with those who need it.
With the Baker McKenzie law firm, CCH legal staff created the Illinois Homeless Youth Handbook , an online legal resource for young people ages 14-24.
Streetlight Chicago
CCH manages Streetlight Chicago , a free app and website that connects unstably housed young people to resources, including shelter, food, and health care.
You can download the iOS or Android app on your mobile device or visit streetlightchicago.org .
