The Housing Program
Since 2002, CRWorks has provided housing services for low income, homeless families in this region, establishing long standing relationships within the communities and other service providers.
Starting in Indiana in 2002 and then in Illinois in 2013, CRWorks has provided housing services for homeless families in this region, establishing long standing relationships within the communities and other service providers. CRWorks has provided quality community-based programs that “push the limit” in addressing issues facing children, youth, justice impacted individuals and families.
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We provide an array of programs that support educational, vocational, personal and legal aid.
55+
Over 55 families graduated from the program into permanent housing.
100%
100 percent obtained employment and over 80% retained their jobs.
The organization has continued to face the challenge of working with a subset of the homeless population, justice impacted individuals, many of whom have limited income or no income at all upon reentry. Many are single parents faced with multiple barriers, afflicted with chemical dependency and mental health problems.
They are released to a community that has become strange and sometimes unwelcoming with no stable housing. These barriers impede this group from becoming self-sufficient and some subsequently end up in the streets which leads to recidivism. By providing an array of programs that support educational, vocational, personal and legal aid, CRWorks and its partners work to ensure that underserved individuals living or returning to the Chicagoland South suburbs and NWI will have the whole person support they need to succeed in their communities.
CRWorks experience in housing provision
include the following programs
CR Works, Inc. received a grant to develop and manage HETSS, a HUD funded transitional Housing program that provided 7 units of 2 and 3 bedrooms scattered site homes to homeless families in the city of Gary. The HETSS program served 60 families since its inception in 2004 to its end in 2010. All of them were enrolled in job search activities, 100 percent obtained employment and over 80% retained their jobs presently while eighty percent of the families enrolled in one savings account instrument or the other.
Over 55 families graduated from the program into permanent housing. HETSS HUD monitoring report for 2007 used such words as ‘exceptional’ and ‘excellent’ for our services and program
Our administrative staff provide referral and information services to over 500 clients who are referred to us for other services. The most often requested services are for problems that relate to housing, child care and transportation. Clients are linked with emergency shelters through the services.
This is a project that consists of 11 units of affordable transitional scattered site housing for homeless families in Gary. Ruby home is funded by Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority IHCDA, City of Gary and corporate donations. Six of the units are new construction single family homes each with 3 to 4 bedrooms while five of the units are rehab properties also with 3 bedrooms. The Ruby homes project is the result of good, strong collaboration between community partners where the City donated vacant lots and money, the County Commissioners donated rehab units, and corporations such as Knight Foundation donated monies toward job training in the Trades for clients who are on the Ruby Homes waiting list.
This is a multi-unit affordable housing development that was funded by both City and State HOME funds. Comfort Villas started occupancy in 2018 and currently houses 8 families with children, some of whom are justice impacted.
This program is a homeless prevention program that was funded by the ARRA. CRWorks, in partnership with the City of Hammond, provided case management to over 300 individuals who had lost their jobs by assisting them to retrain, reskill and obtain sustainable employment.