Belfort House

“This is a new start for me right here,” says a 19-year-old Belfort House resident. Located in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood, Belfort House offers a safe and secure community for youth. They enjoy the privacy of their own bedrooms and common areas such as a community room, teaching kitchen, computer lab, and library. It is the mix of privacy and group living that helps young residents flourish.

Belfort House is a 24-bed transitional living program and a lot more. Program participants stay an average of six months, but may live here up to 18 months or longer if necessary. On-site staff are present with residents at all times.

TLP provides educational, vocational, physical, nutritional, and psychological assessments to identify strengths and growth priorities. Then, residents formulate and implement their own Individual Action Plans (IAPs) based on the various assessments. IAPs are the roadmaps they use to chart and track their progress toward independence. Youth who make significant progress on these action plans (e.g., have held the same job for at least three months and have saved $500) may choose to apply to the agency’s Clustered and Scattered Site Apartment (CaSSA) program. Others may choose options such as college housing, shared apartments, or other permanent housing programs.