CTA outlines homeless outreach program, shelter placements and accelerated moving events; committee asks for crisis-response coordination

Veronica Galanese, CTA chief operating officer, presented the agency’s homeless outreach work under an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS). The IGA funds outreach on the Red and Blue lines and complements other city-funded outreach. Galanese told the committee the IGA provides $2,000,000 for outreach: two providers operate under the agreement — Thresholds (Red Line) and Haymarket (Blue Line O’Hare branch) — and additional outreach is funded by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) through its Night Ministry partnership at terminal stations.

Galanese gave the committee a multi-year tally of outreach activity. CTA and its outreach partners reported 17,586 total encounters across both lines since the IGA began (staff clarified that this count may include multiple encounters with the same individual). Outcomes through the end of 2024 included 265 shelter placements through dedicated referral pathways, 104 clients connected to more stable or permanent housing, and 39 households housed through two CTA-specific Accelerated Moving Events (AMEs). CTA staff said AME events are one‑day housing intake events that let multiple households complete steps of the housing process; two CTA‑specific AMEs were cited: July 19, 2023 (Harold Washington Library — 19 people housed out of 24 attendees) and April 23, 2024 (Chicago Cultural Center — 20 of 20 attendees housed).

Galanese described additional program details: five CTA‑dedicated shelter beds have been in use nightly since September 2023, and CTA and DFSS are working to expand shelter space. CTA staff described a new Shelter Placement and Resource Center (SPARC) at 2241 South Halsted, a 24/7 intake location operated by Franciscan Outreach and New Life Centers that can accommodate up to 200 people awaiting shelter placement and that provides interim services and overflow shelter as capacity allows.

Committee members welcomed the outreach results but pressed CTA staff on points of accessibility and crisis response. Members asked whether outreach statistics disaggregate disability status and whether the shelter and housing pipeline contained accessible units for people with mobility or other impairments. Several committee members also urged CTA to pursue crisis‑intervention or non‑police crisis teams that could respond when staff or riders encounter people in visible crisis on trains, especially outside daytime outreach hours.

Galanese said CTA is exploring options to coordinate crisis teams with DFSS and other partners; staff agreed to ask DFSS whether the Point-in-Time counts and resulting HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) entries contain disability markers that can be reported to the committee. The committee asked CTA to return with follow-up on accessible shelter capacity and the feasibility and timeline for non‑law‑enforcement crisis-response pilots.