Renaissance Social Services' response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Dear Friends and Supporters, I want to take this opportunity to share with your all that Renaissance is doing to keep our participants and staff safe, and meet the needs of Chicago's homeless during this crisis. Because Renaissance provides mental health services, case management, and emergency funds to some of Chicago’s most vulnerable people, we are staying open and fighting to ensure that everyone in our programs has the information, food, medicine, and supplies necessary to manage. Last week we started an initiative to conduct a brief assessment from the Illinois Department of Human Services and Illinois Department of Public Health of every person who comes into contact with our organization.

Along with collecting factual information about symptoms of the disease, and educating how to practice good hand washing and social distancing, we are helping our participants create an individual plan for ensuring they have what they need, including food, medicine, diapers, etc., to deal with closures, avoiding social interactions and the potential for additional restrictions on being in public.

Many of our participants do not have any support network outside of our staff, and some people do not have a phone. Because of this, Renaissance staff are visiting our participants' homes and providing in-person assistance for those who need the most support in order to maintain their mental health and housing stability and those who we are unable to contact via telephone. In our effort to protect both our participants and our staff, most clinical workers are working from home, doing regular telephone checks and conducting home visits from their homes. Our team leaders and some of the administrative staff are in the office coordinating these efforts and ensuring communication is free flowing. We are attempting to provide the resources our participants need, but supplies are limited, funds are limited, and we have not been able to find everything that we need.

We are asking for donations (you can click "Donate Now" on this site's homepage) so we can purchase the following, OR asking for you to purchase them and have them delivered to our offices at 2501 W. Washington Blvd., #401, Chicago, IL 60612:

Bulk cleaning supplies: bleach, disinfectant, dishwashing liquid, Lysol spray, hand sanitizer, toiletries (body wash) laundry detergent, diapers/wipes, baby formula/food, cat/dog food, cat litter, toilet paper, hand soap, shampoo, dish soap, water, sponges, paper towels, multipurpose cleaner, detergent,

Basic medicine: Tylenol, cough medication, thermometers, Kleenex.

Food – Non-perishable food: soups, shells and cheese (the kind that doesn't require milk), ravioli, cereal, granola bars, fruit snacks, pasta, sauce, ramen, cup o noodles, Gatorade, crackers, rice, beans, etc.

Other: Gift cards that can be used for grocery delivery (especially Walmart, Jewel-Osco or general Visa cards that could be used for Instacart, or other. There are no grocery stores that take SNAP for food delivery, so people, especially families need funds for grocery deliveries.

Toys for children (bubbles, coloring books, crayons, play dough); transportation (to the hospital, doctor’s office, grocery store, pharmacy, etc.);

And, to quarantine participants who live in congregate housing but develop symptoms, financial support to rent one or more bridge units/apartments

Thank you for stepping up to help!