Domestic violence survivors seeking shelter continued to flood the state’s hotline last year, as the scarcity of safe housing reached “crisis” levels in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, according to a new report from the group that operates the hotline.
The report, released Thursday by The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, found that calls, texts and messages to the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline have increased dramatically over the past years, with volume now more than doubling pre-pandemic levels.
The need for safe housing is driving the surge, and shelters are not able to meet the growing demand, according to the report.
Tessa Kuipers of Family Rescue, which operates a shelter on the South Side, said this week alone she tried unsuccessfully to find three families beds in the city.
“(They) are either staying on family members’ floors or in police stations or homeless shelters or their cars right now, simply because there has not been domestic violence shelter in or around the city for the past 48 hours,” Kuipers said. “We just need more shelter beds. We need more shelter structures and people to run those shelter structures.”
Last year in Chicago, there were 130 days where no beds or cribs were available in domestic violence shelters — a slight increase from 2023. The problem was even more pronounced in the surrounding suburbs, where there were no available beds or cribs for 173 days in 2024.
“When a survivor is turned away from shelter, they’re facing an incredibly high risk,” Shelby Hoffman Binder of The Network said. “They’re seeking to leave for a reason, the reason is that they’re in danger, and when a survivor is brave enough to ask for help, we need to be able to meet their needs and get them the resources they deserve.”
The Network reported 59,704 total contacts to the hotline in 2024 — a 26% increase from 2023 and a 140% increase from 2019.
For the second year in a row, calls from Chicago also increased.
The hotline received 18,830 contacts from Chicago alone in 2024 — up 17% from 2023 and 78% from 2019.
The zip code encompassing the South Chicago, South Deering and East Side neighborhoods had the highest volume of calls, according to the Network.
Increased awareness of programs available to Chicago area residents and media coverage of high-profile domestic violence cases have contributed to the spike in calls, Hoffman Binder said.
“Any time those kinds of cases are covered, they can serve as a prompt and a reminder to survivors in the community of what’s at stake, and perhaps be that prompt for them to say, now’s my time, I’m going to reach out for help,” Hoffman Binder said.
But Chicago’s “shelter crisis” is still the primary reason for the surge in calls, according to Hoffman Binder.
“We’re seeing those beds so often unavailable, a survivor isn’t calling once, they’re calling seven times, perhaps over the course of a week, to access shelter and we’re seeing that particular crisis locally, here in Chicago and in the broader suburban areas,” Hoffman Binder said.
Across the state, the hotline received a record-breaking 18,940 requests for shelter last year, according to the report.
Beds were more readily available in shelters across central and southern Illinois, but Hoffman Binder notes that does not always mean they are accessible. In many cases, these shelters are hours away from the survivor, and there are no transportation options.
The Network attempts to supplement beds through its Crisis Housing Program, which provides survivors with temporary hotel stays. The program provided 670 survivors with hotel rooms and covered almost $800,000 in housing costs last year.
This program is contingent on state and city funding, which Hoffman Binder notes will be a challenge next year, as funding through the American Rescue Plan Act comes to an end.
“We hope to see at least level funding as we move through these challenging budget seasons, and want to ensure that we’re able to continue to meet demand as it grows, because survivors deserve help when they’re brave enough to ask,” Hoffman Binder said.
For anyone seeking help, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is available any time of day at (877) 863-6338.
