Meet Ms. Sendy Soto

- Chicago's First Chief Homelessness Officer

September 27, 2024 

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT 

Webinar 

 Open to all. 

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This program is a component of the series on 'Advancing Health Equity by Reducing Healthcare Disparities. 'More details here. 

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A great opportunity to learn about the City of Chicago's vision, plans and  efforts to date in supporting the the unsheltered (homeless), and attaining a healthy and safe environment. 

We are excited to host a forum to meet Ms. Sendy Soto, Chicago's First Chief Homelessness Officer. Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the appointment of Sendy Soto as the City of Chicago’s first Chief Homelessness Officer (CHO) in April 2024 during  the grand opening of the renovation of the Lawson House, a 406-unit affordable apartment complex in the Gold Coast. 

Soto is charged with coordinating across City departments and sister agencies and developing a five-year plan to address the homelessness crisis in Chicago. 

Cause for Great Concern and Action - Homeless & Unsheltered 

• Chicago Public Schools (CPS) identified 17,700 students as homeless during the 2022-23 school year, with that number rising to 24,157 as of February 2024, only. 
• In August 2023, CCH released its annual homeless estimate report showing that an estimated 68,440 people were experiencing homelessness in Chicago in 2021. This reflects a 2,829-person increase from the previous year.
  
• Bring Chicago Home advocates state there are 68,000 homeless Chicagoans.

Soto will work in alignment with the county, state, and federal government, particularly the

Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and the White House ALL INside initiative. In partnership with City  departments and sister agencies, Soto will aim to expand the inventory of housing options for people experiencing homelessness including rental assistance, rapid rehousing, noncongregate shelter, stabilization housing, permanent supportive housing, and opportunities for residents to transition out of supportive housing. 

Soto’s leadership has been recognized with the Women Who Dared Award from the Chicago National Organization for Women. Soto was appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to serve on the Governing Commission for the Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa Expanded Mental Health Services Program where she provided support to establish an affordable mental health service center for local residents.

The position is funded through a multi-year grant by Chicago Funders Together to End

Homelessness (CFTEH). CFTEH is a collaborative of more than 30 philanthropic partners aligning resources around a shared strategy to prevent and end homelessness. “Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness is so pleased to partner with Mayor Johnson to create the first-ever Chief Homelessness Officer position for the City of Chicago,” said Emily Krisciunas, Executive Director of Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness. “A dedicated, senior-level role within the Mayor's Office will help advance sustainable, long-term solutions to expand access to housing for all and help end homelessness in Chicago.”

Please join us in meeting Ms. Soto and learning about the City's vision, plans and efforts to date. 

Bio- Ms. Soto brings over two decades of experience in public policy addressing issues related to

homelessness, housing, community safety, and health and human services. As the Senior Director

of Community Impact at The Chicago Community Trust, Soto drove funding towards underserved populations, particularly people facing housing insecurity and homelessness. Prior to that, Soto served as the Managing Deputy Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Housing. Soto spearheaded the country’s first Racial Equity Impact Assessment (REIA) on a Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), leading to over $1B in investments in affordable housing. Ms. Soto has a Bachelors of Art degree - Justice Studies from Northeastern Illinois University. 

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Save the Date: Our next program is October 29th at Noon - Critical Foundations of Healthcare AI  (previous title-'Artificial Intelligence- Health Care & Public Health -How Safe is It?') More details here. 

Interested in Sponsoring this program? Contact Courtney Avery Davis, MPH or Deborah Hodges, MA-IDS at sponsorship@iomc.org.