'Accelerated Moving Event' unfolds at Gompers Park encampment, housing assistance offered

Housing offered to Gompers Park encampment residents amid 'Accelerated Moving Event'

After months of debate, a long-standing homeless encampment in Gompers Park on Chicago?s Northwest Side is in the process of coming down.

CHICAGO - After months of debate, a long-standing homeless encampment in Gompers Park on Chicago’s Northwest Side is in the process of coming down. Still, those living in tents will not be forced to leave, according to city officials.

While tensions have run high over the issue, many of the individuals living in the encampment walked away with permanent housing on Wednesday.

What we know:

The City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) hosted an "Accelerated Moving Event" in partnership with All Chicago on Wednesday to quickly connect unhoused individuals with shelter and other services.

The scheduled event helped speed up and fund the process of placing individuals into housing, allowing them to complete multiple complicated steps at once. They were brought to a nearby building where they met with housing case managers, selected apartments, and even chose furniture.

"It’s pretty much a one-stop-shop for housing and it’s very comprehensive," said 39th Ward Alderman Samantha Nugent. "This has proven to be the most successful way to get the unhoused into housing and actually stay in housing and youth services. Also, I do support the restoration of the park, and I understand the concerns of our community."

Since last year, residents have raised concern about safety, citing recent incidents involving an off-leash dog attacking community members, as well as indecent behavior and reports of drug paraphernalia and knives found in the park.

The fire department has also responded to multiple fires at the encampment.

"The fire department was called out roughly 35 times over the last year," Nugent said.

Youth baseball games and practices, which were at risk of relocation due to the encampment, are now expected to return to the park.

"Right now, things have been kind of quiet, and I think everyone is really hopeful that we are going to have games moved back here after things are back to normal," said Ryan Johnson, president of the Gompers Park Athletic Association.

What's next:

Although many of the unhoused individuals have accepted services, tents remain in the park for now—as it could take between 30 to 90 days to move them into newly selected homes.

As encampment members move into housing over the next several weeks, any abandoned property left behind will be removed during the next monthly park cleanup; however, city officials explain that the Accelerated Moving Event is not an encampment shutdown.

"This isn’t a closure, this isn’t a sweep, but it is an opportunity for people to move out of housing and possibly, the park having less foot traffic," said Sendy Soto, Chief Homelessness Officer for the City of Chicago. "We would love to provide an opportunity where everyone can move into housing and receive the wraparound services but we don’t have those resources, our partners don’t have those resources, so until we can address the gap in availability of affordable housing or even the shelter beds we need, we cannot force people and we wouldn’t be forcing people to leave a public space."

City officials say they will continue working to restore the area while ensuring those in need receive ongoing support.

In the coming months, the Chicago Park District is planning several projects at Gompers Park. According to Nugent, they include restoring the lagoon, building the Nature Play Space that was a winning Participatory Budget project from 2022, and resurfacing the basketball parking lot on Pulaski Avenue.

Notices will be posted in advance of construction, and during that time those still living in tents will be asked to relocate to other areas.