Mass shooting on CTA shines light on homeless safety

Advocates for Chicago's unhoused population say this week's shooting on a CTA train that killed four people , including two who were believed to be unhoused, emphasizes the need for more resources.

Driving the news: Cook County prosecutors this week charged Rhanni Davis with four counts of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting Monday of Margaret Miller Johnson, 64; Adrian Collins, 60; Simeon Bihesi, 28; and one other person whose name has not been released, on a Blue Line train to Forest Park.

The big picture: The Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness estimates 68,000 people in Chicago are experiencing homelessness, while the city estimates only 6,139 people are unhoused based on its "point in time" count this year, which is one night and doesn't count people temporarily staying with others.

• Chicago saw a 14% increase in the number of families and individuals accessing shelters from 2022-2023, according to the city.
• Inflation, rising rents and the arrival of thousands of migrants has contributed to the rise.

Between the lines: The unhoused population has always made use of public spaces like trains, which has led to other riders unfairly linking that group of people to ongoing safety issues with the CTA, advocates say.

Reality check: Unhoused people consistently face threats too.

• "I think we conflate or confuse safety with discomfort so folks might feel uncomfortable because someone who they presume might be unhoused is on the train, maybe dealing with some issues, but that doesn't mean that they're posing a safety issue to them," Doug Schenkelberg from the Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness tells Axios.

Zoom in: The CTA and the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) have contracts with nonprofits like Thresholds and Haymarket Center to provide harm reduction materials, food, hygiene products, and direct people to housing.

• The Night Ministry has outreach workers at the Howard Street Red Line station on Wednesday nights and the Forest Park Blue Line station on Thursday nights to help with some immediate medical needs, make arrangements to get someone to a hospital and connect people to housing.
• Between January 2023 through July 2024, DFSS connected 88 people to housing and facilitated 220 shelter placements from the CTA Red and Blue Line trains, a DFSS spokesperson tells Axios.

Yes, but: Housing options are increasingly limited.

• Individuals often must have some form of identification that they may not carry or have to get into housing and there are simply not enough beds, The Night Ministry's Burke Patton tells Axios.
• DFSS funds 3,000 shelter beds at 50 separate facilities.

Friction point: In March voters rejected Mayor Brandon Johnson's major policy proposal to build more affordable housing, forcing Johnson and advocates to look for different sources of funding.

What they're saying: " The fact that people who are experiencing homelessness are on the CTA … isn't really about the CTA, it's about the growth of homelessness, and just about the lack of housing for people being able to get into," Schenkelberg said.

• "And the CTA happens to be one of the spaces like libraries, like field houses, viaducts, where folks might find a little more safety."

What you can do: DFSS says calling 311 is one of the ways to connect people in need to shelters that have available housing.

• Rather than just moving to another car or calling the police, if you confront someone experiencing homelessness or someone who appears in need of care, acknowledge them and if they are requesting money, Schenkelberg advises: "We encourage folks to acknowledge the request and give a response. They deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect as others."
• If someone appears to be in distress, you can text 988, a 24/7 hotline to support people with mental health-related issues, or call 311.

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