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Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS)

The Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS) is an interim housing shelter located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Founded in 1985, LPCS provides shelter and comprehensive social services to adult men and women who are experiencing homelessness. LPCS is privately funded and not religiously affiliated. Open year-round, LPCS houses up to 35 guests a night and serves about 300 guests a year through a continuum of programs. Since its inception, LPCS has always been heavily driven by volunteers. It currently has an annual pool of more than 1,500 volunteers that contribute more than 14,000 hours each year.

Founded in 1985 by a handful of volunteers, LPCS was originally an emergency shelter that rotated locations between four neighborhood churches: Church of Our Savior Episcopal Church, Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, St. Clement Catholic Church, and St. Pauls United Church of Christ. In 2007, the Lincoln Park Community Shelter underwent a Capital Campaign and moved most of its operations into the newly-renovated basement space of the Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church (600 W Fullerton Parkway), offering 24-hour services for the first time. On February 12, 2010, LPCS celebrated its 25th anniversary.

LPCS has a continuum of four programs: The Community Engagement Program, which works with local agencies to direct at-risk people towards LPCS and provide them with basic services at satellite locations; the Interim Housing Community, which provides guests with shelter, food, storage space, showers, laundry facilities, and communication services; the On Track Program, in which guests pursue at least one of three tracks (Addictions Recovery, Mental & Physical Health and Employment & Education) and work towards individualized goals; and the Graduate Community, which provides access to continued services after one moves into independent housing, including meals, rental assistance, access to donated items, case management and referrals, and the continued guidance and support of the LPCS community of staff, volunteers, and guests.