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Heartland House tells Springfield council homelessness exits to housing rose to 409 in 2025
Summary
Heartland House director Josh Sabo told the City Council the community doubled emergency-shelter capacity and increased state and federal funding 500% since 2022, and that exits to permanent housing rose from 94 in 2019 to 409 in 2025. Aldermen pressed for more outreach and a sidewalk near encampments.
Josh Sabo of Heartland House briefed the Springfield City Council on the nonprofit’s coordinated approach to homelessness during the council’s Aug. 5 meeting. He said the top goal is prevention and, where shelter is required, getting people into case-managed supportive housing.
"The goal first and foremost is to prevent homelessness, if possible," Sabo said, describing coordinated entry and supportive-housing strategies used in Springfield and Sangamon County. He highlighted system gains: the community doubled emergency-shelter capacity, state and federal funding grew by about 500% since 2022, and exits to permanent housing rose from 94 people in 2019 to 409 in 2025.
Sabo described tools the local continuum uses: a landlord risk-mitigation fund to help place households, a "built for 0" dashboard that tracks inflow and outflow, and an HCOC Connect smartphone app to alert outreach teams to people in need. The organization also has an encampment response protocol that coordinates outreach, public works and health partners and seeks person-centered solutions before closures.
Councilmembers praised the progress but pressed for more targeted services. Alderman Gregory and others asked the Heartland House director to expand services for clients with behavioral-health or criminal-history barriers to shelter entry, and Alderman Williams raised a public-safety concern about people walking along state highways and urged the council to help fund a sidewalk near an encampment.
Sabo said some of those complex-care proposals may be appropriate for the county’s new 708 board and offered to work with aldermen to advocate jointly for sidewalks and other infrastructure supports. Mayor Buscher and several aldermen thanked Heartland House for its work and for partnering with city outreach teams.
The presentation closed with council members agreeing to continue collaboration on encampment response, outreach expansion and housing navigation as staff and community partners finalize pilots and funding requests.
