CHICAGO — To address rising unemployment rates and the surge of home foreclosures, Mercy Housing Lakefront and The Cara Program are expanding the 180° Properties (formerly called Cleanslate Property Services) social enterprise. This partnership trains low-income, disadvantaged workers to board-up and maintain vacant, foreclosed properties in Chicago, ultimately creating jobs, protecting homes, and stabilizing neighborhoods.
“This expansion will empower more individuals with high obstacles to employment to attain new skills, pursue and obtain quality jobs and create the foundation for long-term careers,” said Cindy Holler, Mercy Housing Lakefront President. “It also has the potential to revitalize many of Chicago’s neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.”
180° Properties was created in response to the growing demand for property maintenance services for homes in foreclosure in Chicago. It builds upon the property maintenance experience of Mercy Housing Lakefront and the training and employment expertise of The Cara Program.
This new phase, which was supported by a $200,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to Mercy Housing Lakefront, will allow 180° Properties to increase its capacity to respond to the growing challenges—especially in communities severely afflicted by foreclosures and disinvestment. Through this expansion, 180° Properties will create additional training opportunities and serve as a pathway to permanent, quality jobs.
About Mercy Housing Lakefront
Mercy Housing is addressing the Chicago and Milwaukee regional foreclosure and housing crisis by working with partners to build or preserve 7,500 affordable homes, create 8,000 jobs, and prevent displacement or homelessness for 20,000 people. Mercy Housing Lakefront (MHL) has developed and currently manages 21 properties with nearly 2,800 residents. Mercy Portfolio Services (MPS) is a national foreclosure remediation leader and manages the City of Chicago’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. MHL and MPS are part of Mercy Housing, a national organization that has developed, preserved, or financed more than 40,000 affordable homes. For more information please visit www.mercyhousing.org.
About The Cara Program
The Cara Program prepares and inspires motivated individuals to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, transform their lives, strengthen our communities and forge paths to real and lasting success. Since 1991, The Cara Program has placed over 2,800 individuals into quality, permanent employment at average hourly wages 30% higher that Illinois minimum wage and one-year job retention rates of 75% - catalyzing the same number of families to stop the transfer of poverty from one generation to the next. In addition, The Cara Program’s social enterprise, Cleanslate, creates over 200 transitional jobs (internships) every year for Cara students with significant obstacles to employment, while providing neighborhood beautification services to 14 Chicago communities. Together, these programs are a proven catalyst for true change and real, lasting success in families and communities throughout Chicago. For more information, please visit www.thecaraprogram.org and www.cleanslatechicago.org.
About the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation’s largest independent foundations, supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. For more information, please visit www.macfound.org.
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“This expansion will empower more individuals with high obstacles to employment to attain new skills, pursue and obtain quality jobs and create the foundation for long-term careers,” said Cindy Holler, Mercy Housing Lakefront President. “It also has the potential to revitalize many of Chicago’s neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.”
180° Properties was created in response to the growing demand for property maintenance services for homes in foreclosure in Chicago. It builds upon the property maintenance experience of Mercy Housing Lakefront and the training and employment expertise of The Cara Program.
This new phase, which was supported by a $200,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to Mercy Housing Lakefront, will allow 180° Properties to increase its capacity to respond to the growing challenges—especially in communities severely afflicted by foreclosures and disinvestment. Through this expansion, 180° Properties will create additional training opportunities and serve as a pathway to permanent, quality jobs.
About Mercy Housing Lakefront
Mercy Housing is addressing the Chicago and Milwaukee regional foreclosure and housing crisis by working with partners to build or preserve 7,500 affordable homes, create 8,000 jobs, and prevent displacement or homelessness for 20,000 people. Mercy Housing Lakefront (MHL) has developed and currently manages 21 properties with nearly 2,800 residents. Mercy Portfolio Services (MPS) is a national foreclosure remediation leader and manages the City of Chicago’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. MHL and MPS are part of Mercy Housing, a national organization that has developed, preserved, or financed more than 40,000 affordable homes. For more information please visit www.mercyhousing.org.
About The Cara Program
The Cara Program prepares and inspires motivated individuals to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, transform their lives, strengthen our communities and forge paths to real and lasting success. Since 1991, The Cara Program has placed over 2,800 individuals into quality, permanent employment at average hourly wages 30% higher that Illinois minimum wage and one-year job retention rates of 75% - catalyzing the same number of families to stop the transfer of poverty from one generation to the next. In addition, The Cara Program’s social enterprise, Cleanslate, creates over 200 transitional jobs (internships) every year for Cara students with significant obstacles to employment, while providing neighborhood beautification services to 14 Chicago communities. Together, these programs are a proven catalyst for true change and real, lasting success in families and communities throughout Chicago. For more information, please visit www.thecaraprogram.org and www.cleanslatechicago.org.
About the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation’s largest independent foundations, supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. For more information, please visit www.macfound.org.
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