Chicago aims to turn Diplomat Motel into ‘healthy housing’ for homeless people — with much more than a roof overhead
Chicago officials are closing in on plans to transform a budget motel along North Lincoln Avenue into a housing pilot that would provide on-site substance abuse and mental health treatment — part of the city’s long-term efforts to combat chronic homelessness by pairing temporary shelter with intensive health care.
The City Council is slated to vote Wednesday on the $2.9 million purchase of the Diplomat Motel. That’s where the city plans to test a new “stabilization” shelter model whose goal is to transition homeless people into permanent housing by giving them their own rooms, as well as a host of medical and casework services. Next, the property will require a special-use zoning permit and modest renovations, with the aim to start the program in the first half of next year.
Located along the Lincoln Avenue corridor as a bustling thoroughfare for travelers seeking cheap lodging,
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