By Ariana Lopez ’18
Recently, the Humboldt Park Field House is now opening its doors to aid incoming victims of Hurricane Maria. After realizing that the amount of people seeking refuge from the natural disaster was large, they decided to offer arrangements that would allow many to have a safe place and roof over their heads. The center is located by the boat house at 1400 N. Sacramento Ave.
What They Offer
The center will be offering many things to the people, aside from a shelter. When asked about this topic, Mayor Maldonado told DNAINFO.com: “At the center, evacuees will be able to find food, clothing and health care services, as well as information about housing and education.” A priority that composed this decision was making sure many got what they needed/did not miss out on things that were necessary, mainly to reinstate the normality of days for the evacuees so they don’t feel to out of place.
Things Considered
A main concern was whether or not evacuees would be able to leave the Field House and join their family because of rent agreement or lease forms. The verdict is: choosing to relocate yourself to live with family members will not negatively affect the evacuee or the lease agreement of the family and the renter, as explained by WGN9 news: “Chicago families living in subsidized housing will be able to have their family members, who evacuated, move in with them without fear of violating their leases.”
Long-Term Goals
Mayor Maldonado is focusing on offering long-term plans for many of the evacuees taking in how long the rebuilding period will be in Puerto Rico. With that, comes setting a housing norm that benefits the incoming families. “Maldonado said he’s also continuing to work with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on making sure evacuees, particularly those holding Section 8 vouchers, are given priority for subsidized housing,” added DNAINFO.com.
Progress
This remedy seems to be working effectively, as the numbers for evacuees taking shelter in the Field House seem to grow excessively with time. Upon taking account of how many people rescinded at the FIeld House, WGN9 News concluded that around 1600 people are in the shelter. Despite the fact that this is not nearly the amount of people that were affected, it’s a large number that only continues to grow.
The shelter will continue to have its doors open until further notice.
