Introduction
Accelerated Moving Events (AMEs) are a cornerstone of Chicago’s strategy to address homelessness, offering a streamlined process to connect unhoused individuals and families with permanent housing and support services. Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, AMEs compress the housing process into a single day, allowing participants to view apartments, complete applications, and select furniture, all with the support of case managers and nonprofit partners. This article explores the progress, successes, challenges, and current situation of AMEs in Chicago, focusing on their impact on homeless encampments, the broader fight against homelessness, and the pivotal role played by former Ald. James Cappleman in their advocacy and design.
Origins and Structure of AMEs
AMEs emerged in 2020 as part of the Expedited Housing Initiative (EHI), a response to the heightened risks faced by unhoused individuals during the pandemic. Coordinated by All Chicago Making Homelessness History and the Chicago Continuum of Care (CoC), AMEs use federal funding to remove barriers to housing, such as lengthy paperwork or fragmented service access. During an AME, participants work with outreach teams to:
- Browse available housing units through Chicago Rents, a program connecting landlords with tenants.
- Fill out applications with on-site assistance.
- Select furniture from the Chicago Furniture Bank.
- Receive case management to ensure long-term housing stability.
The process is designed to be efficient and client-centered, addressing immediate housing needs while fostering lasting stability. Since their inception, AMEs have been held at shelters, drop-in centers, and encampments across the city, including high-visibility sites like Gompers Park and Humboldt Park. Former Ald. James Cappleman (46th Ward) was instrumental in laying the groundwork for AMEs through his advocacy for housing-first solutions in Uptown.
Role of James Cappleman in AME Advocacy and Design
James Cappleman, a former social worker and 46th Ward Alderman (2011–2023), played a significant role in advocating for and shaping the framework that led to AMEs. Representing Uptown and parts of Lakeview, areas with visible homeless populations, Cappleman leveraged his social work background and community activism to address homelessness systemically:
- Pilot Housing-First Project (2016): Cappleman collaborated with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to encourage the City of Chicago to launch a housing-first pilot project in Uptown. This initiative successfully housed 75 individuals living under two Lake Shore Drive viaducts, demonstrating the efficacy of rapid housing solutions. The project’s success highlighted the need for a coordinated process to track and support unhoused individuals, directly influencing the design of AMEs. Cappleman’s advocacy ensured the pilot emphasized permanent housing over temporary shelters, a core principle of AMEs.
- Systemic Improvements: The 2016 pilot revealed gaps in service coordination and data tracking. Cappleman pushed for a system to identify and monitor each person receiving services, improving efficiency and accountability. This advocacy led to the development of processes that AMEs now use to ensure participants receive tailored support and follow-up care.
- Community Advocacy: As a former chair of the Illinois National Association of Social Workers’ HIV Task Force and co-founder of Chicago’s first homeless shelter for people with HIV/AIDS, Cappleman brought a deep understanding of social service coordination to his aldermanic role. His work with the Uptown Chicago Commission and his efforts to secure housing for 96 unhoused residents in 2017 informed the collaborative model of AMEs, which relies on partnerships between DFSS, nonprofits, and the CoC.
- Balancing Community Needs: Cappleman faced criticism from some advocates who accused him of prioritizing gentrification over affordable housing. However, he defended his approach by noting that Uptown maintained a high level of affordable housing (35% of units in 2019) and that his housing-first initiatives, like the viaduct project, aimed to address homelessness compassionately. His ability to navigate community tensions helped secure support for AMEs in areas with competing interests.
Cappleman’s contributions were foundational in establishing AMEs as a scalable, housing-first intervention, influencing their structure and citywide adoption.
Progress and Impact
Housing Successes
AMEs have demonstrated significant success in moving unhoused individuals into permanent housing. Key achievements include:
- EHI Outcomes (2020–2022): The EHI, which relied heavily on AMEs, connected 1,888 households to permanent housing, a 60% increase in housing placements over 26 months. The initiative reduced the average time from referral to move-in by 17 days (from 76 to 59 days) and increased the housing success rate from 73% to 78%.
- Citywide Impact: Since December 2020, the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) has moved 2,800 households into housing, including 898 from encampments like Humboldt Park.
- Specific Events: In April 2021, Breakthrough Urban Ministries hosted an AME that connected 26 participants to permanent housing. In August 2023, Haymarket Center’s AME at Harold Washington Library enrolled 11 individuals from its Mobile Outreach Program, with plans for them to sign leases within 90 days.
- Gompers Park (March 2025): An AME at this Northwest Side encampment saw 29 participants view apartments, with many accepting permanent housing offers. Between November 2020 and May 2022, 94% of AME participants offered housing secured it.
These outcomes highlight AMEs’ ability to deliver rapid, tangible results, particularly for those living in unsheltered conditions, building on the housing-first principles Cappleman championed.
Systemic Improvements
AMEs have driven broader improvements in Chicago’s homelessness response system, many of which trace back to Cappleman’s early advocacy:
- Centralized Landlord Engagement: Through Chicago Rents, AMEs have scaled landlord participation, offering guaranteed rent payments, housing vouchers via the Chicago Housing Authority, and a Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund to cover damages.
- Continued Funding: After pandemic-era federal funding ended, All Chicago secured alternative funding to sustain AMEs, recognizing their effectiveness.
- Collaboration: AMEs involve partnerships with DFSS, nonprofits like Olive Branch and Thresholds, and the CoC, fostering a coordinated approach that Cappleman’s viaduct project helped model.
Current Situation
Recent AME Activity
In 2024 and 2025, AMEs have focused on high-profile encampments, reflecting both community pressure and city priorities:
- Humboldt Park (2024): The Humboldt Park Encampment Initiative, launched in August 2024, aimed to house all residents by December. An AME connected 30 individuals to 60 apartments citywide, supported by increased outreach and services.
- Gompers Park (2025): After months of debate, an AME on March 5, 2025, offered housing to 29 encampment residents. While not a closure, the event reduced the encampment’s footprint, with abandoned property cleared during subsequent park cleanups. City officials emphasized that participation was voluntary, and no one was forced to leave.
- Other Sites: AMEs have been held at various locations, including shelters and transit hubs, to reach diverse unhoused populations.
Challenges and Controversies
Despite their successes, AMEs face significant hurdles:
- Resource Constraints: Chicago’s homeless population surged to 18,836 in 2024, driven partly by the migrant crisis, overwhelming available housing and services. Demand far outstrips supply, leaving many unhoused even after AMEs.
- Opaque Processes: Advocates have criticized AMEs for lacking transparency, with some suggesting that political pressures—such as community demands to clear visible encampments—influence site selection over need-based criteria.
- Displacement Concerns: While AMEs are not officially encampment closures, they often precede park cleanups or rule enforcement, raising fears that unhoused individuals who decline housing offers may lose belongings or be displaced. In Gompers Park, advocates displayed signs reading “let them stay,” highlighting tensions between housing offers and personal autonomy.
- Housing Suitability: Some participants reject housing due to accessibility issues, location mismatches, or distrust of the system, leading to persistent encampments.
- Community Tensions: Neighbors and aldermen frequently push for encampment removals, citing safety and sanitation concerns. In Humboldt Park, residents reported issues like trash and crime, while in Gompers Park, youth sports disruptions prompted calls for action. These pressures can complicate AMEs’ housing-first focus, a challenge Cappleman navigated in Uptown.
Legal and Policy Context
The Illinois Department of Human Rights’ March 2025 warning that encampment removals may violate the state’s Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act has shaped AME implementation. City officials, including Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto, have emphasized that AMEs are not sweeps and that unhoused individuals will not be criminalized. This legal framework underscores Chicago’s commitment to voluntary, supportive interventions, aligning with Cappleman’s advocacy for compassionate, systemic solutions.
Future Directions
To sustain and enhance AMEs, Chicago must address several priorities:
- Increase Housing Stock: Expanding affordable housing is critical to meet demand, particularly for those with complex needs.
- Enhance Transparency: Clear communication about AME selection and outcomes could build trust among advocates and unhoused individuals.
- Strengthen Support Services: Robust case management and wraparound services (e.g., mental health, job training) are essential to prevent returns to homelessness.
- Balance Community Needs: Addressing resident concerns while prioritizing unhoused individuals’ rights requires careful mediation and post-AME plans to prevent new encampments.
Conclusion
Accelerated Moving Events have transformed Chicago’s approach to homelessness, housing thousands of individuals and streamlining the transition from encampments and shelters to permanent homes. Former Ald. James Cappleman’s advocacy and design contributions, particularly through the 2016 Uptown viaduct project, laid the foundation for AMEs’ housing-first approach and coordinated service model. Successes like the EHI’s 1,888 housed households and recent AMEs at Gompers and Humboldt Parks demonstrate their potential. However, challenges—resource shortages, transparency issues, and community tensions—persist, compounded by a growing homeless population. As Chicago continues to refine AMEs, balancing housing-first principles with practical constraints will be key to making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. For more information, visit All Chicago’s EHI page.
