Maria Hadden Holds Town Hall Meeting Clarifying Homelessness Situation in Touhy Park

This story was written by Griffin Krueger and Hunter Minne

Over 400 Rogers Park residents and concerned individuals joined a virtual town hall hosted by Alderwoman Maria Hadden of the 49th ward. In the meeting, Hadden and Chicago Park District officials took questions from residents and clarified the situation surrounding the homeless encampment in Touhy Park which has grown contentious in recent weeks. 

The meeting comes in the wake of the sudden unexplained closing of the Touhy Park fieldhouse and relocation of park services to another nearby park after the number of individuals living in Touhy Park grew rapidly, The Phoenix previously reported. 

Hadden was joined by Rosa Escareno, general superintendent of the Chicago Park District, who fielded questions from residents regarding the agency’s handling of the situation. Also present was Maura McCauley, deputy commissioner of homeless and domestic violence programs at the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS). 

During the meeting Hadden said her office’s main priority going forward is ensuring as many people as possible are connected with housing before the winter months. Leslie Perkins, Hadden’s chief of staff, reiterated this goal in a statement to The Phoenix.

“Our office will continue to work with the Park District, DFSS, the police, and other departments to address concerns as they arise and connect individuals to housing,” Perkins wrote. “We also remain committed to passing the Bring Chicago Home resolution so we can have a dedicated revenue stream to combat homelessness in our city.”

Escareno addressed residents’ concerns over the decision to close the fieldhouse and criticism over the lack of communication from the agency. Touhy Park Staff and Hadden’s office said they were not informed about the decision to close the fieldhouse, The Phoenix reported. 

Escareno said the park district’s choice was informed by concerns over security and safety in the park. She said the park district will strive for improved communication in the future. 

“We are committed to keeping that line of communication open with the alderman’s office to make sure that the community knows the changes and the shifts in programming,” Escareno said in the town hall.

Hadden laid out the ways the city is working to mitigate the number of people experiencing homelessness as well as the way the city is working to provide assistance and resources to unhoused individuals. Through Accelerated Moving Events organized by city officials and the DFSS in November, 64 individuals residing in Touhy Park were matched with housing, Hadden said.

“Multiple times a week there are public or nonprofit agencies funded by the city that go out to engage with residents, not just in Touhy Park but all over our city,” she said. “In our area, for people who are experiencing homelessnes, they’re working to connect people with services, whether that be health care services, other social services, housing, and to help figure out what are each individual’s different barriers to housing.”

Multiple residents who spoke during the meeting volunteered to help individuals residing in the park through donations and direct support, asking Hadden the best ways to do so. 

There are 20 encampments in the city made up of five or more individuals and nine encampments with more than 10 residents, according to the FCSS.

The situation took an ugly turn Sept. 27 when Sarah Lim, a freshman at Depaul University, handed out fake eviction notices to residents in the park. The sheets claimed residents would be relocated to a luxury hotel and listed Hadden’s name, Block Club Chicago reported.

Lim has previous connections to Bill Morton who is challenging Hadden in the upcoming municipal election. Trudy Leong, a representative for the Morton campaign, said Lim was not acting on behalf of the campaign and they disavow her actions. 

“We just didn’t think she would do something like that,” Leong said. “We asked her to issue a public apology to all the parties involved.”

Lim did not respond to a request for comment. 

Hadden said the city’s shelters are currently filled to 98% of capacity and added the additional load brought on by the bussing of migrants from the southern border by Texas Governor Greg Abbot has only further strained the city’s ability to provide support. 

Hadden approved the opening of a new men’s shelter in Rogers Park in August, but she said aid will not be immediate as the shelter will not open until June 2023. Hadden added there has been a noticeable increase in homelessness in the city over the past year. 

“We’re finding more and more people needing housing in my office,” Hadden said in the town hall. “We’re seeing multiple people each week come to my office who are newly experiencing homelessness or soon to be experiencing homelessness and that is a big change from where we were this time last year.” 

Featured image by Hunter Minne | The Phoenix