Social Services

Medical students from Northwestern Memorial Hospital are on hand at every meal to provide blood pressure screenings, diabetes counseling and healthcare referrals to our guests.

The Chicago Help Initiative serves much more than food. We also provide our guests with access to an array of social services, from health screenings and employment and financial counseling to housing options and educational programs. Our programs include:

Employment Resources and Jobs Club - In 2017, we launched our weekly jobs club program for our guests who want to re-enter the workforce. Learn more.

Adult Learning - Our trained education volunteers provide on-one-one tutoring to our guests on a variety of subjects such as computer skills, reading, writing, math, GED preparation, and books club. Learn more.

Arts and Culture Program - In partnership with Red Line Service, a nonprofit arts organization serving Chicago’s homeless population, we host regular outings for a group of our guests to some of the finest cultural and entertainment venues Chicago has to offer. The program uplifts minds and spirits. Learn more.

Health and Wellness - Through our partnership with The Night Ministry, a nurse practitioner is present at every meal to meet one-on-one with guests who need on-the-spot assistance. Twice a month, practitioners from the Stone Psychiatric Institute at Northwestern Medicine are present to speak with and refer our guests to additional services. Learn more.

Housing Assistance - Every month, social workers from NorthSide Housing and other partner agencies are on hand to provide direct case management enrollment and services for our guests who are homeless.

Financial Literacy - Every month, volunteers from our partner Metropolitan Capital Bank provide one-on-one counseling and information to assist our guests in re-establishing a bank account, repairing their credit and other financial guidance they might need.

Speakers - At most every meal we invite a guest speaker from a local services agencies to address a topic relevant to our guests, such as job training, housing, health services and employment. We also invite entertainers and other motivational speakers. Interested in getting your organization involved and connecting your services with our guests? Please contact us.

Resources Guide: Twice a year, CHI publishes a sturdy pocket-sized booklet listing contact information for social services agencies that assist vulnerable and homeless Chicagoans with shelter, food and other basic necessities. We distribute our guide to our guests and vulnerable Chicagoans, as well as to churches, shelters and other local organizations that work with people in need. We are able to distribute the guide free of charge because of the generosity of our sponsors. To order guides for your organization, please contact us.