Little Village migrant shelter closing by Nov. 3 as Chicago migrant arrivals continue to drop
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A state-run migrant shelter that opened earlier this year in a vacant CVS store in the Little Village will be closing in the coming weeks, as the number of asylum seekers staying in Chicago shelters continues to drop.
The Little Village shelter at 2634 S. Pulaski Rd. has housed hundreds of migrants since it opened in January.
As of Thursday, about 146 people were living in the shelter. But with thousands of vacant migrant shelter beds across the city, those people will eventually be relocated when the Little Village shelter closes for good on Nov. 3.
"We've seen a dramatic decrease in new immigrants that have been arriving, both at the border and therefore in Chicago," said Eréndira Rendón, vice president immigrant justice at The Resurrection Project, a non-profit organization that's been at the forefront for resettling asylum seekers since the migrant crisis began in Chicago in August 2022.
The Resurrection Project has seen migrants coming to Chicago successfully establishing networks of friends and family, meaning many might no longer need the city or state to house them.
"That's the best network for people to come learn about what it's like to live in Chicago. You know, how to use CTA. How to be able to find a job. And so it just creates a much better network for immigrants to stay and thrive," she said.
City data show there are still 15 active migrant shelters in Chicago, including the Little Village location.
A total of 5,174 people were staying in the city's migrant shelters as of Thursday morning — while there's a capacity for much more than that, with more than 5,000 empty beds.
The city also plans to close another shelter in Hyde Park by the end of October.
The latest shelter closings come as the city has announced it is renewing its contract with Favorite Healthcare Staffing to operate the shelters, extending their agreement until April 22, 2025, and increasing their contract by $100 million.
It's unclear why that number is so high. It's the largest award amount the city has given the Kansas-based company so far. City officials did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the contract extension.
The Mayor's office issued this statement about the money for Favorite Staffing—saying the contract extension is not an approval for more services, but pays for services through this month:
"The City of Chicago Department of Procurement Services recently approved increasing the limit to the amount of funds which Favorite Health Staffing can invoice the City for asylum seeker services. While this is not an approval for additional funding, it will enable the City to pay for shelter services previously rendered by Favorite Health since April 2024 through next month, October 2024."