1. Mercy Housing Lakefront
A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECT
BETWEEN LOYOLA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
AND MERCY HOUSING LAKEFRONT’S
TENANT LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
2. Background and History
1989 – A group called Lakefront SRO converts a single-room
occupancy hotel in the Uptown neighborhood into a 69-unit building.
Provided rooms and social services to people who had long
experience of homelessness.
2006 – Lakefront SRO combined with the national organization, Mercy
Housing, to become Mercy Housing Lakefront
MHL has 12 permanent supportive housing buildings in Chicago
providing 1,307 units to some of the city's most vulnerable residents.
Buildings in Uptown area:
Harold Washington
Major Jenkins/Delmar Apartments
Malden Arms Apartment
Miriam Apartments
Carlton Apartments
3. Context for Research
Mercy Housing Lakefront is funded by a mix of
city, state, and federal housing programs along with
private and philanthropic donations.
Major Budget Spending cut proposed in 2011/2012
Illinois State budget
Cuts of up to 8% to Department of Human Services.
Proposed cut would affect the services offered to
Mercy Housing Lakefront tenants.
Raises concerns for some of the tenants
Could be any other ways to buffer the effects of the proposed
budget cut?
4. Research Questions
Where are the free food resources in the area
available to Uptown Mercy Housing Lakefront
tenants?
Has the increase in food prices and decrease in
federal assistance strongly impacted the tenants of
Mercy Housing Lakefront in Uptown?
How are tenants coping with these changes through
their spending habits, grocery store preferences, and
food pantry visits?
5. Map
MAP OF THE FREE FOOD RESOURCES
AVAILABLE TO THE TENANTS LIVING IN THE
MERCY HOUSING LAKEFRONT BUILDINGS IN
THE UPTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD
6. Data Collection & Methodology
Need for knowledge of free food resources established at
first tenant meeting
Data Collection
Online research
Resource from tenant compiled by Alderman James Cappleman’s
46th Ward Community Service Office
direct2food.org
Looked for:
Eligibility based on boundaries
Reliability of information
Recorded:
Name, address, hours of operation, telephone numbers, any
additional services
7. Data Analysis
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping
Visual representation of quantitative and qualitative data
Map is meant to be a resource that is easy for
anybody to use
8.
9. Survey
IN ORDER TO FIND OUT IF THE ECONOMIC
DOWNTURN HAS EFFECTED TENANTS OF
MERCY HOUSING LAKEFRONT’S ABILITY TO
OBTAIN FOOD
11. Data Collection
30 question survey, split into 4 sections
Neighborhood
Food budget
Food pantries
Grocery stores
Surveyed 50 Mercy Housing Lakefront tenants
Conducted structured interviews following CITI
guidelines
12. Data Collection
Quantitative Qualitative
Direct questions with a Open-ended questions-
narrow range of answers giving the tenants the
could be classified along opportunity to expand and
nominal, ordinal, or scaled elaborate on their
measurements. answers.
Focus on statistical trends Focus on the “Hows?” and
in food budgets at Mercy “Whys?”
Housing Lakefront.
13. Data Analysis: Quantitative
Social Statistics Software: SPSS 19
Provided a statistical method for analyzing our
community collected data and produced averages
and proportional statics to support our research
question.
19. Results and Findings: Quantitative
Statistical trends support food cut backs in the Mercy
Housing Lakefront community
Increase in food pantry usage, 67% frequent food
pantries in last 6 months.
Almost unanimous agreement that food prices have
risen in the last 6 months
Downturn has affected access to quality food
resources
20. Data Analysis: Qualitative
Read through each survey multiple times focusing on
one section at a time
Recorded all answers
Grouped responses based on similarities in order to
find common themes.
Compiled all responses into a single fluid narrative
21. Results and Findings: Qualitative
Neighborhood Food Pantries
Pro: Location, Diversity Increase in wait time
Con: Only go as a last resort
Gentrification, Homelessn “Doing the best they can”
ess
Changes: Decrease
Crime, Increase Jobs Grocery Stores
Food Budget
Shop the sales
Quality vs. Cost
Food Prices Increase
Traveling for savings
Link card unchanged
General Assistance cut
22. Limitations of Research
Spoiled surveys
Misunderstandings and miscommunications
Survey variation
Sample size and population
23. Implications
The area is becoming gentrified: Housing cost are
increasing, cost of living is increasing, a growing
backlash against homeless and tenants of supportive
housing.
Due to the budget cuts and increasing food
prices, tenants at Mercy Housing Lakefront are becoming
more depended on resources in the area. Resources
which are becoming depleted.
Growing tension between what Uptown is and who lives
there and what Uptown is becoming and who wants to
live there
Must ensure the food budget crisis does not escalate and
advocate for the tenants’ right to food.
24. Suggestions for Further Research
Originally, “Background and Community
Information” section was intended to give context to
responses; however, it ended up serving as a general
interest and suggestions component to the survey.
Many of our suggestions are based off tenant
concerns
Safety
Effects on Local Food Pantries
Tenant Diet
Tenant Rights
Community Building
25. Conclusion
Map of free food resources will be useful for Mercy
Housing Lakefront tenants
Survey provided information about issues affect
tenants and areas of interest
Entirely collaborative process
This is the tenants’ map, tenants’ survey, and the tenants’
results to use as they want
Strongest and most powerful resource – tenants