The Haven on Lincoln Is Opening!
The Haven on Lincoln has reached a major milestone. On Thursday, May 7, 2026, Cornerstone Community Outreach joined with civic leaders, community partners, supporters, and neighbors to celebrate the ribbon cutting for this new transitional housing location at 5230 N. Lincoln Avenue.
Make a gift today to support The Haven on Lincoln.
The Haven transforms a former motel into a place of dignity, privacy, healing, and hope for individuals experiencing homelessness. With private rooms, supportive services, and a trauma-informed environment, The Haven is designed to help residents stabilize, connect with care, and move toward permanent housing.
In the News
Block Club Chicago highlighted The Haven as a place offering “dignified privacy” for Chicagoans experiencing homelessness. That phrase captures the heart of this project. The Haven is not only about opening a building. It is about creating a resilient setting where people are treated with dignity and supported in their next steps toward home.
Fox 32 Chicago Live host Anita Blanton interviewed Andrew Winter about The Haven on Lincoln and the change it represents for the shelter system in Chicago.
Chicago Sun Times “Lincoln Avenue’s once-notorious Diplomat Motel becomes stylish shelter for homeless people”
Urbanize Chicago “The Haven on Lincoln will remain dedicated to housing and supportive uses for the long term”
Help Prepare The Haven on Lincoln for Residents
The ribbon has been cut, and we are now preparing for resident move-in and early operations. Cornerstone is raising $92,500 to help support the care and services connected to each of The Haven’s 37 rooms.
That goal represents $2,500 in launch support for each room, helping provide staffing readiness, resident supplies, transportation, housing navigation, behavioral health connections, service coordination, and the early operating support needed as The Haven prepares to welcome residents.
Your gift helps provide launch support for:
- Resident supplies and room essentials
- Staffing readiness and early operations
- Transportation to appointments and essential services
- Housing navigation and landlord engagement
- Behavioral health and healthcare connections
- Meals, basic needs, and daily care
- Service coordination as residents prepare for permanent housing
Every gift helps prepare The Haven to welcome residents with dignity, privacy, and support, moving The Haven from ribbon cutting to resident care.
Interested in Volunteering at the Haven, fill out our Interest Form
Background on The Haven on Linclon
The Haven on Lincoln is a transformational redevelopment project for Cornerstone Community Outreach in partnership with the Chicago Department of Housing and Department of Family & Support Services, that will create dignified, non-congregate transitional housing for individuals experiencing homelessness in Chicago.
Located at 5230 N. Lincoln Avenue, the Haven on Lincoln is the adaptive reuse of the former Diplomat Motel into a purpose-built environment designed for stabilization, healing, and transition to permanent housing. The project reflects Cornerstone’s commitment to housing as a human right and to creating spaces that are safe, calming, and supportive of long-term stability.
Images by Gensler, and Gensler, Site Design Group LTD, Project Sponsors.
A Response to a Growing Need
Many individuals experiencing homelessness face complex medical, behavioral health, or age-related challenges that are difficult to address in traditional congregate shelter settings. The Haven on Lincoln responds to this need by providing private rooms and trauma-responsive design, allowing residents to rest, recover, and engage in services with dignity and privacy, on their path to permanent housing.
The Vision
The Haven on Lincoln is designed to feel like a place of refuge and renewal, not an institution. The project prioritizes:
- Private, non-congregate living spaces
- Thoughtful, calming design that supports recovery and wellbeing
- Purposeful common areas for connection and services
- Accessibility and safety throughout the building
Every element of the design supports stabilization and prepares residents for their next step toward permanent housing.
Integrated Care and Support
The Haven on Lincoln is part of Cornerstone’s broader system of care, strengthening the connection between healthcare and housing. The project is designed to support coordinated medical and behavioral health services and aligns with Cornerstone’s work to expand medical care and medical respite capacity. This integrated approach helps residents address underlying health and stability challenges while preparing for housing placement.
Part of a Larger Commitment and Community
The Haven on Lincoln is one of several major redevelopment initiatives advancing Cornerstone’s mission to end homelessness for each person we serve. Together, these projects reflect a shift toward non-congregate, person-centered environments that honor dignity, promote health, and create real pathways home.
Equally important, the Haven on Lincoln is embedded within a network of community partnerships that help ensure residents’ needs are met during their stay and beyond. Cornerstone works closely with healthcare providers, behavioral health partners, housing agencies, and community-based organizations to connect residents with medical care, mental health support, benefits, and permanent housing opportunities. These partnerships strengthen continuity of care, expand access to services, and support each resident’s progress toward stability and independence.
By combining purpose-built space with coordinated community support, the Haven on Lincoln is designed not only to provide shelter, but to serve as a bridge to long-term housing, health, and connection within the broader Chicago community..
The Work Ahead
As Cornerstone completes final readiness steps, our focus is preparing the building, staff, services, and partnerships needed to welcome residents well. This includes operational readiness, resident supplies, housing navigation, transportation, service coordination, and healthcare and behavioral health connections.
Supporters can get involved by:
- Making a contribution to The Haven on Lincoln launch campaign
- Creating a personal fundraising page and inviting others to give
- Exploring partnership opportunities that strengthen care, housing pathways, and community connection
- Contacting Executive Director Andrew Winter at awinter@ccolife.org
Together, we can help prepare The Haven as a place of stability, healing, and possibility for individuals working toward permanent housing.
The Haven on Lincoln has moved from vision toward readiness, and there are meaningful ways to help prepare this new model for the residents it will soon welcome.
Project Supporters
Alderman Vasquez -40th Ward
Chicago Department of Family & Support Services
Chicago Department of Housing
Chicago Department of Public Health
Illinois Public Health Institute
Trilogy
Thresholds
ONE Northside
Swedish Endeavor Hospital
Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness
and individual residents of the 40th Ward
