Our MISSION is to help vulnerable individuals stabilize their lives through housing and supportive services. We provide a comprehensive range of services, which include emergency overnight shelters, daytime support centers, rapid rehousing services, and transitional and permanent supportive housing facilities, and partner with a range of healthcare and social support service providers to meet our clients’ individual needs. Our GOALS are to: • Reduce and end homelessness in Southwest Suburban Cook County • Connect our clients with affordable housing and successfully reintegrate them back into the community. • Make our communities stronger and safer for everyone Our OBJECTIVES are to: • Successfully and efficiently deliver services that stabilize individuals and families who are at risk of homelessness or literally homeless • Reintegrate homeless individuals and families back into their communities as contributing members. Our VISION is to end homelessness.

BEDS Plus Care follows the proven strategies identified by decades of research conducted by HUD and independent research conducted by housing advocates and academics. In 2012, BEDS adopted a Housing First strategy, transforming the agency from primarily a local provider of emergency overnight shelter to a regional partner delivering the entire spectrum of services to reduce and end homelessness. These include Rapid Rehousing, which emphasizes housing as the first step in treating homelessness, accompanied by safety net supports, to move people to independence. Permanent Supportive Housing recognizes the needs of highly vulnerable homeless who cannot live independently and rely disproportionately on emergency services for their needs. Transitional Housing helps people, such as victims of domestic violence, who need a year of intense support before they are ready to succeed in Rapid Housing. Homelessness Prevention stops the harm caused by homelessness before it starts.

We have successfully secured a healthy mix of public and private support to strategically add staff and implement best practices in ending and preventing homelessness. As a result, BEDS has been able to help more clients each year; the number of clients served annually has grown exponentially since 2012 when BEDS was still primarily a homeless shelter organization. In our last fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2018, we served 920 clients and secured permanent housing for 152 households.

We measure progress by the number of "return customers" we see and by the number of individuals and families we house. At the present time, less than 20% of our clients return following their exit from our housing and prevention programs. We would like to see that number decrease to less than 10%. Last year, 73% of our clients were permanently housed upon program exit or temporarily housed and well on their way to permanent housing. We are implementing a staffing strategy that pairs specialists with case managers who handle the main line service needs, including housing, benefits and employment assistance, and teaching life skills. Specialists include an RN who provides health care coordination for our clients and two substance abuse specialists who provide counselling, run support groups, and provide the intensive one-on-one care that addicts need in order to recover. We also have added staff to follow up with clients and improve their likelihood of success.

Expansion of our Emergency Overnight Shelter System in 2017 from 7 to 19 shelters and capacity to shelter 60 guests per night - twice our prior capacity. Opening of a purpose built permanent supportive housing unit, Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing, with 20 single occupancy units for chronically homeless, highly vulnerable adults. Acquisition of transitional housing stock, LaGrange Area Transitional Housing, dedicated to low income, housing insecure families with a child who has a disability. Acquisition of a new single site permanent supportive housing building that will add 13 units to the current stock of 50 single and scattered site housing units. In all, our efforts have meant that 920 clients, the largest number to date, are benefiting from shelter services, safety net supports, and housing assistance and individualized case management - a substantial contribution to reducing and ending homelessness in Southwest Suburban Cook County.