2025 Home Illinois Summit

Rosemont

5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL, 60018, United States

About the Event

Join us for a transformative one-and-a-half day event to create a future where homelessness is a challenge of the past.

Home Illinois Summit

The annual Home Illinois Summit provides an opportunity for Illinois' homeless services community, including people with lived expertise, service providers, healthcare and housing providers, philanthropic and advocacy partners, government staff, and elected officials, to gather and share best practices in preventing and ending homelessness. During the Summit participants learn about lifesaving programs, evidence-based solutions, building and funding innovative partnerships between systems, and centering racial equity in policies and programs. Participants come together to share information and discuss progress in the collective work of preventing and ending homelessness in Illinois. For more information on the Summit, visit https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=171125.

2025 Home Illinois Summit

The 2025 Home Illinois Summit will be June 9-10, 2025, in Rosemont, Illinois! Building on the success of last year's event, which saw over 400 participants, this year's summit will bring together a diverse group of experts, advocates, and professionals from across Illinois to explore and collaborate on new solutions for homelessness. The theme of this year's summit reflects our collective commitment to addressing homelessness through innovative thinking, inclusive perspectives, and community-driven action.

Registration: The Summit is free and open to all up to capacity. Registration will open in February. Scholarships are available to support travel expenses for people with lived expertise of homelessness or housing instability whose travel expenses are not covered by an employer.

Time and Location: The 2025 Home Illinois Summit will be June 9-10, 2025 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel and Conference Center, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, Illinois 60018. The hotel is conveniently located near public transportation and roadways. For directions, please visit: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9LumV6AV48YpRSMe7.

Summit programming starts Monday, June 9th at 1 pm. On Tuesday, June 10th, programming begins at 9 am and runs until 4 pm.

IFF will offer a pre-session training opportunity at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel the morning on 6/9. Please indicate when registering for the Summit if you are also registering for the pre-conference training. IFF will present, along with fixed site emergency housing shelter operators on topics including real estate readiness, capital sources, community engagement and more. Learning outcomes are centered to provide an overview and technical training for shelter operators to form a strong knowledge base for first time developers and shelter operators who may not have previously engaged in a complex real estate project, including the phases of a facility project, project development budget, operating budget and zoning, land use and community engagement. The session will include case studies and lessons learned related to community engagement and zoning, organizing and communications, and conversion of hotel to shelter operations.

Key 2025 Session Focus Areas:

· Innovations and Successes: Celebrating breakthrough achievements and effective strategies in homelessness initiatives, particularly but not limited to communicating successes supported through Home Illinois or other State programs or policies.

· Staff Resiliency: Strategies and promising practices to support staff, advocate and community resiliency.

· Program Technical Assistance: Enhancing capabilities in program management, reporting, and execution.

· Artistic offerings: Artistic offerings (visual art, song, video, etc.) to offer reflections on lived experiences of homelessness, working in the homeless service sector, or another topic related to homelessness, housing insecurity and supportive housing.

· Unsheltered homelessness: Sharing learnings related to best practices in supporting people who are unsheltered, promoting and communicating the importance evidenced-best practices, and mitigating the harms of local unsheltered homelessness criminalization trends.

What You Can Expect

Inspiring DiscussionsParticipate in engaging sessions where we will dive into new approaches, emerging challenges, and innovative solutions to combat homelessness. This is an excellent opportunity to hear from thought leaders, policymakers, and individuals with lived experiences who will share valuable insights and success stories.Interactive Workshops

Take part in hands-on workshops designed to equip you with practical tools and strategies for your work. Topics will include technical assistance, data-driven decision-making, and impactful service delivery strategies. These sessions are tailored to provide actionable knowledge that will empower you to improve programs and deliver better outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness.Networking OpportunitiesThis summit offers numerous opportunities to connect with a wide range of professionals, including service providers, government representatives, individuals with lived experience, and foundation partners. Build meaningful relationships, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects that have the potential to create lasting change across Illinois.