Tuesday, August 29, 2023

The volunteer collective Todo Para Todos (TPT) will cease day to day operations of the shelter on September 3rd. For the past month, we have doubled down on our efforts to house all of our current residents in preparation for the sun-setting of our building. 

As we look towards ceasing operations, we want to acknowledge that the shelter has been a true community effort, and we are proud that we have been able to partner with and empower our newest Chicago neighbors to live with autonomy and dignity during this humanitarian crisis.  Due to the tenacious and innovative efforts of the TPT volunteer collective we are proud to say that we have:

• Provided temporary shelter for approximately 260 residents since May 9th

• Independently found permanent housing for over 150 residents

• Provided meals, bedding, water, clothes, and other necessities to 260 residents for  4.5 months

• Provided meals, ice, and water to migrants at police station 12, as well as clothing and other necessities as requested

• Enrolled over 70 children in school

• Initiated over 80 asylum cases with Binational Institute of Human Development 

By way of contrast, there are approximately 6,500 individuals in city-run shelters, and only 480 households have moved on to permanent housing. It is no small feat that over half of our residents have been able to find apartments while being denied access to AESRAP. As a mutual aid collective, we are a small but mighty player working to help alleviate the housing crisis. Because we are an independent, volunteer-run collective, we have been able to respond swiftly and creatively to the issues our residents face. 

This decision to close was not made easily. Although we fought for the institutional support that would have made this project sustainable, our lack of robust support from the city and state is the primary reason for our ending. Our need for closure was accelerated by issues with insurance for the building, and that many of our volunteers are educators returning to the classroom. 

To date, all of our monetary donations have been from individuals or small organizations, such as mutual aid projects and local musicians and artists. We have received incredibly generous in-kind donations, including donations of labor from numerous local unions and individuals.

The decision to close was made with constant communication with residents, the building’s owner, our partner organization the Binational Institute of Human Development (BIHD), and the 25th Ward Office, as well as attempts to inform and work with the Mayor’s office and the Office of Emergency Management & Communications (OEMC). Though we and our partners have strongly advocated for support at city and state levels since our opening, both for shelter operations and re-housing efforts, the little offered has not met the operational needs of the shelter to continue sustainably in a safe and dignified manner. Just as we have constantly and tirelessly employed creative solutions to the myriad problems we face, we have asked the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois to provide equally creative solutions to support basic needs for migrants and asylum seekers. We are beginning to see glimmers of hope in city collaboration with mutual aid efforts, and will continue to push for the city and state to rise to the occasion as proactive players in solving this humanitarian crisis.

TPT volunteers are committed to continuing to provide the services we have been coordinating beyond operating the shelter, such as assistance with housing, coordinating meals and water deliveries to the police station, and providing educational programs for residents to develop their autonomy and successfully integrate into life in Chicago. We carry out all this work while continuing to advocate for meaningful support at city, state and federal levels with the acute understanding that it should not be the job of private citizens to bankroll the provision of survival needs in the midst of a humanitarian crisis while institutional funds are mismanaged. 

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

We have signed on to the below statement in solidarity with Rogers Park Food Not Bombs:

We write this communication working through our fear and indignation from news that the Johnson administration has contracted Gardaworld LLC to erect tent camps in Chicago this winter.

As residents of Chicago, we welcome all people who are fleeing political and climate crises, especially those caused by the actions of our federal government. We express solidarity with Black Chicagoans who have been chronically and systematically under-resourced. And we reject ruling class efforts to pit precarious communities against each other, while they use this crisis as a cover for new models of profit.

Funds mobilized to meet the needs of asylum seekers should be directed towards solutions for long term municipal infrastructure. The city should be rehabilitating buildings to temporarily house people which can be returned to the community as social centers, and also creating affordable municipal housing for all.

As mutual aid organizers we reject the Johnson administration's praise and use of our labor and our care, to then ignore us when we ask for solutions that center the humanity of asylum seekers. We demand solutions that affirm the agency and dignity of all people seeking refuge in Chicago.

And we recognize the arbitrary differences in how asylum seekers are being treated across the city; this situation is putting many into direct confrontation with Chicago police. People must be housed in safe and comfortable buildings. Tent camps are inherently dehumanizing. We cannot allow militarized solutions a foot in the door of our city’s repertoire for crisis response.

As Rogers Park Food Not Bombs, we will continue our work: to bring those living in many degrees of precarity together towards solidarity and mutual care, to meet some needs within our capacity, and above all else, we will continue to support our neighbors in asserting their dignity and basic rights.

As Rogers Park Food Not Bombs, we will continue to bring food to share with our asylee neighbors and commune in public space to find what we hold in common as we fight together for our needs.

We are eager to connect with others in this city - with those who believe in the dignity of asylum seekers and that of the many precarious Black, indigenous, brown, unhoused and immigrant communities of Chicago - and with those who will work to not only meet discreet needs but to act in coordinated political solidarity towards city funded solutions. We invite everyone to think on their positionality and to act in response to this moment. Please reach out to us.

In love and struggle,

Rogers Park Food Not Bombs

rogersparkfnb@gmail.com

LA DIGNIDAD ES UN DERECHO DE TODAS LAS PERSONAS EN CHICAGO

Escribimos este comunicado mientras lidiamos con nuestro miedo e indignación al escuchar la noticia de que la administración de Johnson ha contratado a Gardaworld LLC para instalar casas de campaña en Chicago este invierno.

Como residentes de Chicago, damos la bienvenida a toda la gente que está huyendo de cualquier crisis política y/o climática, especialmente aquéllas provocadas por las acciones de nuestro gobierno federal. Expresamos nuestra solidaridad con la comunidad afroamericana en Chicago, quienes han padecido una crónica y sistemática falta de recursos. Rechazamos los esfuerzos de la clase en el poder para enfrentar a comunidades en estado de precariedad unas contra otras, mientras utilizan esta crisis como cubierta para implementar nuevas formas de obtener ganancias.

Los recursos recaudados para satisfacer las necesidades de personas en busca de asilo deben estar dirigidos a construir soluciones de infraestructura municipal de largo plazo. La ciudad debería estar rehabilitando edificios que brinden un hogar temporal a las personas que así lo requieran, para posteriormente devolverlos como centros sociales para la comunidad; además de crear vivienda municipal accesible para todos y todas.

Como organizadores de ayuda mutua, rechazamos el actuar de la administración Johnson, que  nos llena de elogios por nuestro trabajo y esfuerzo, pero que al mismo tiempo nos ignora cuando solicitamos soluciones centradas en la humanidad de las personas en busca de asilo. Demandamos soluciones que reafirmen la voluntad y dignidad de todos quienes están buscando refugio en Chicago.

Reconocemos las diferencias arbitrarias respecto a cómo son tratadas las personas en busca de asilo en toda la ciudad. Situación que pone a muchas de ellas en confrontación directa con la policía de Chicago. La gente debe ser ubicada en edificios cómodos y seguros. Hacer uso de tiendas de campaña es inherentemente deshumanizante. No podemos permitir y dar entrada a soluciones militarizadas como parte del repertorio de nuestra ciudad para responder a situaciones de crisis.

En Rogers Park Food Not Bombs, continuaremos nuestro trabajo: uniendo a aquéllos que sufren diferentes grados de precariedad en una red de solidaridad y apoyo mutuo, tratando de satisfacer, en la medida de nuestras posibilidades, algunas de sus necesidades y, por encima de todo, continuando con el apoyo a nuestro vecinos en la lucha por la reivindicación de su dignidad y derechos más básicos.

En Rogers Park Food Not Bombs, seguiremos trayendo comida a los espacios públicos para compartir con nuestros vecinos en busca de asilo y nuestra comunidad, para de está manera encontrar lo qué tenemos en común mientras luchamos juntos por la satisfacción de nuestras necesidades.

Estamos deseosos de conectar con otros y otras en esta ciudad - con aquéllos que creen en la dignidad tanto de los buscadores de asilo como de las muchas comunidades Afroamericanas, Indígenas, Latinxs, sin hogar, e inmigrantes de Chicago que se encuentran en estado de precariedad - y con aquéllos que trabajan no sólo para satisfacer pequeñas necesidades sino que buscan actuar en solidaridad política coordinada en la construcción de soluciones financiadas por la ciudad. Invitamos a todos y todas a pensar en su posicionamiento actual y a actuar en consecuencia en este momento tan importante. Por favor, comuníquense con nosotros.

En amor y en la lucha,

Rogers Park Food Not Bombs

rogersparkfnb@gmail.com