In the Sept. 5 Tribune editorial about crime on the CTA, the editorial board left out one important fact: Unhoused people, while often unfairly painted as dangerous, are much more likely to be the victims of violent crime.
As the leaders of Thresholds and Haymarket Center, two of the city’s largest organizations providing support and housing for individuals experiencing serious mental illnesses, histories of substance use disorders and homelessness, we are sickened by this atrocity and that four lives were tragically taken on a CTA Blue Line train in Forest Park — a space that everyone deserves to use without fear.
At Thresholds and at Haymarket, we work every day to connect this vulnerable population to the services they need, including housing, health care and community support. We do this because we believe that every person deserves the dignity of a safe and stable life. These individuals are a part of our Chicago community, and they deserve care and compassion while living in vulnerable positions.
One of the key services our organizations provide is outreach to individuals who seek shelter on CTA trains. This is a reality for many unhoused individuals who are unable to find adequate shelter. There are many reasons an individual, particularly people living with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders, might turn to the CTA as a refuge. The CTA provides protection from the elements, helps them move throughout the city and often allows them to avoid shelters that can be uncomfortable for people with certain conditions due to overstimulating rules and overcrowded environments.
Our clinicians spend 16 hours each day on the Red and Blue lines engaging with individuals sheltering on the CTA, offering varying levels of interaction and support including transportation to shelter, substance use disorder treatment, health care and behavioral health resources. Outreach teams also offer food, clothing and hygiene products and case management support. Sometimes, a simple acknowledgement or “hello” is all an individual is interested in. Some accept the support, while others prefer to be left alone. No matter their choice, our clinicians treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve while working diligently to build trust and ensure their needs are met.
Ultimately, our teams work tirelessly to support these communities and reach thousands of people every year, but our efforts alone are not enough. We need to come together as a city, a state and a nation to invest in real solutions to homelessness — solutions that prioritize permanent housing and comprehensive support services to help people get back on their feet, live with dignity and thrive.
Chicago is in desperate need of more housing across the entire spectrum for individuals who are unhoused or unstably housed. Shelters are often the focus, and yes, we need increased shelter space. But we also need more low-barrier emergency housing, more noncongregate shelter slots, more safe havens, more permanent supportive housing, more affordable housing and more rental assistance vouchers. We need more recovery home beds so individuals are not waiting weeks or months for a stable environment to step down to.
Our teams’ capacity often is limited if we don’t have the resources to direct these individuals from the CTA into housing. We can ask them to go to a shelter, but it’s not always so easy. Many of our city’s shelters are at capacity, and Chicago faces a serious lack of transitional housing that would be necessary to get these folks to a more permanent, safe situation.
This act of violence is not an isolated incident. It is a reflection of the systematic shortcomings that leave our neighbors without a safe place to call home. Today, we call on our leaders at every level — city, county, state and federal — to act urgently. Together, we can find solutions for more affordable housing, emergency shelters and supportive services that meet people where they are, both physically and emotionally. We need policies that reflect the beliefs that every human deserves to live a healthy and happy life with dignity and that immediate access to treatment and care is a priority for all individuals.
As we mourn the lives lost, we are ever more committed to this important work of supporting the least vulnerable among us. We owe it to the victims, to their families and to every person in our community who feels unsafe and unsupported. The time to act is now.
Mark Ishaug is president and CEO of Thresholds. Dan Lustig, Psy.D., CAADC, CODPII, is president and CEO of Haymarket Center.
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