Who We Serve

Did you know that for 2007-2008 school year, over 10,000 Chicago Public Schools students self-identified as homeless? Over 2,000 of those students were living in homeless shelters, and this is the population that Chicago HOPES serves.

The Chicago Public Schools Homeless Education Program aims to provide services for all homeless students in Chicago. The mission of the CPS Homeless Education Program is to provide an educational environment that treats all students with dignity and respect. Every CPS homeless student shall have equal access to the same free and appropriate educational opportunities as students who are not homeless. This commitment to the educational rights of homeless children and youth applies to all the services, programs and activities provided or made available by CPS. Chicago HOPES is an initiative of the Chicago Public Schools Homeless Education. While Homeless Education Program works with all self-indentified Chicago Public School homeless children, Chicago HOPES serves the children that reside within shelters.

Definitions of Homelessness

1. Individuals living “doubled-up” with friends or family or someone else’s house that is not yours due to financial hardship.
   • They can be forced to leave at anytime.
   • This encompasses most of the children enrolled in CPS Homeless Education Program (HEP)
2. Individuals living in shelters
3. Individuals living in other unstable and inadequate housing situations
   • abandoned buildings
   • on the street
   • in tents, hotels, cars, etc.

Rights of Homeless Students

In 1987 the McKinney Vento Act was passed, and then reauthorized in 2001.

This law gives homeless students the right to:

• Attend school without the immediate need to present documentation such as, birth certificates, immunizations records, proof of homelessness, etc.
• Continued enrollment in their school of origin, or immediate enrollment in their attendance area school, for as long as they remain homeless or until the end of the school year when they are permanently housed
• Transportation assistance
  • CTA Cards
  • Yellow School Bus

More Information

If you would like more information regarding the rights and services provided to CPS students who are homeless, please see the website for the Homeless Education Program.

Please see the section on What We Do to find out more about the shelters and where Chicago HOPES is located.

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