“Dear CCO Staff, Shelter Guests, Volunteers, and Supporters,
To say that I have enjoyed working at CCO would be such an understatement. It has been a thrill, anadventure, and a great ride. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Working at CCO with wonderful families and single people has made me a better person and I am thankful for each and every story I have been privileged to be a part of.
The CCO staff has worked tirelessly alongside me and I am grateful to them for their faithfulness to our important work. I could not have done this for over 30 years without them.
My successor as Executive Director will be Andrew Winter, who has been working alongside me for many years as Chief Financial Officer and has already been leading the way for the last couple of years. He has exhibited great capability and compassion.
I will miss CCO, the staff, and all our residents more than I can express. It is bittersweet to be retiring, but I am also excited about this new chapter in my life. Thank you for your support after all these years.”
Sandy Ramsey
CCO staff, shelter guests, volunteers, and supporters wish Sandy all the best as she embarks on the next phase of her life. She will be truly missed. Stay tuned for an upcoming tribute to Sandy and her many incredible years at CCO.
“Gardening feeds my soul, and I’m so happy to share it with others.” -Laura Thiessen, CCO Gardener
Long-time CCO volunteer Laura Thiessen had dreams of establishing a healing, fertile space that would benefit CCO shelter guests. In 2021, Laura’s vision of creating a tranquil, productive garden for shelter guests on the Hannah Shelter rooftop became a reality.
“I love to use gardening as a tool to connect with people. It’s an honor to bring gardening and green space to CCO’s shelter guests. Several women from the Naomi Shelter and myself planted calendula flowers this week. Even amidst the sleeping, winter-browned garden, the Naomi ladies were soaking in the sunshine and enjoying the outdoors. One Naomi guest had planted carrots in her garden bucket last year. We had so much fun digging them up, sharing them, and laughing at the different sizes. I believe that human interactions and garden spaces like this one can revive the soul, unite, and empower us. We can enjoy the outdoors, grow what herbs and produce we can, right where we are, and fellowship together. It’s a joy to see the happiness the garden brings to all ages. It awakens the wonder of nature and gives us a platform to grow seeds of hope!”
Along with delicious produce, vibrant and engaging programs have grown from the rooftop garden project. Women at the Naomi Shelter have enjoyed learning to make Herbs N Me Hand Cream with Laura, using calendula flowers and other natural ingredients sourced directly from the CCO Rooftop Garden.
Tuesday Tea is CCO’s weekly garden party (weather permitting). The casual gathering takes place in the CCO Garden on the Hannah Shelter roof. Women and children from the Hannah Shelter are welcome to join the Naomi Women, many of whom have planted and nurtured the garden. Delicious tea is brewed from the herbs found in the raised beds. Everyone joins in watering plants and picking produce that is ready to eat. Tuesday Tea is a time to celebrate the success of the rooftop garden project and enjoy the people and plants that occupy the space. The children join in on the gardening fun or play on the rooftop playground nearby.
“Grace,” a Naomi Women’s shelter guest, grew a tiny watermelon and enjoyed sharing it with everyone at Tuesday Tea. After taking a bite, she danced around the picnic table and sang, “I’m a farmer!” Grace danced for the sheer joy of nurturing and growing fruit that she could share with others. Recently, Grace moved from the Naomi Women’s program into her apartment, and she’s coming back to volunteer her time and energy into the garden.
Laura and the garden ladies have hopes for a produce booth at a local Chicago Farmers Market. Last year, the garden produced cucumbers, watermelon, butternut squash, sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, sunflowers, kale, lettuce, broccoli, basil, dill, fennel, calendula, lilacs, cosmos, and wildflowers. With the help of CCO shelter guests, she’s planting seeds she carefully saved from last year. Her vision is to create a beautiful, life-giving space that fosters hope and recovery for those at CCO.
The garden and all its vibrant outcroppings would not be possible without the generous support of Gethsemane Gardens and Hearthstone Terrace, two local businesses that know the value of the natural world in healing and uniting people. Thank you! And thank you, Laura, for creating a space that teaches, restores, and revives!
Please consider donating to CCO today! Your gift will ensure safe shelter and supportive services for families and single adults experiencing homelessness. Click here to visit our Donation Page. Thank you!
CCO is grateful to provide safe shelter, nutritious meals, and supportive services to Chicagoans experiencing homelessness. With your help, Cornerstone welcomes families and single adults who were previously sleeping on the train, on a relative’s couch, in a car, in substandard or overcrowded conditions. People come to CCO from a variety of difficult situations. They all have one thing in common, a need for shelter and help finding housing.
“CCO accepts families of all descriptions. Dads with children, moms with children, grandparents with grandchildren, three-generational families, parents with special needs adult children, and families with service animals have all found safe shelter. Single adults experiencing homelessness need safe shelter too. At Cornerstone, single men and women can find support and a sense of community that reduces the isolation often associated with homelessness. CCO shelter guests receive critical, personalized assistance from case managers who access supportive services and permanent housing.”
CCO has kept its doors open throughout the COVID pandemic providing safe shelter and essential services. The staff has worked tirelessly to make sure the shelter facilities and all policies maximize safety for shelter guests. Services to CCO’s neighbors in need have continued, too.
Cornerstone shelter guests rely on your valuable support. Please consider donating today so Cornerstone can continue to welcome those experiencing homelessness tomorrow.
CCO would like to extend a huge Thank You to the friends and family of Larry Hope. They have made a $1,000 donation to provide a meal to CCO shelter guests catered by Urban Tables. In addition to that they have donated $2,000 to replace the damaged CCO stove. These monetary donations were given on Larry’s birthday, February 12. These gifts are intended to highlight Larry’s life story, a story of love and true transformation.
The following are the words of Heather Yutzy, Larry’s close friend for the last 30 years.
“The meals and the money for the stove that we are giving to Cornerstone is done in honor of Larry Hope. Larry was a man who lived and worked in Uptown for many decades.
I met Larry 30 years ago when he was volunteering at the Monday night meal for the neighborhood at Uptown Baptist Church. Larry and I served meals, cooked, and washed dishes side-by-side for many months before I realized he was homeless. At that time, he was living on the streets and largely staying in U-Haul trailers that were parked on a lot in Uptown.
Larry was bright, articulate, funny, and curious. He was always learning and asking great questions. He began going to church and was welcomed by the congregation. He was deeply loved. In the late 80s, I saw Larry’s life being transformed by the love of God.
Larry obtained employment at the Salvation Army Tom Seay Center, pouring his loving care for others into the meals he prepared there. He earned his GED, later excelled in college courses, and as his faith grew stronger he began working full-time with people on the streets of Uptown. His transformation reflected his devotion, and he brought his experiences to the streets to help others meet both physical and spiritual needs.
Eventually, Larry met and began courting a woman in San Francisco. They married and settled there. Larry spent the final years of his life bringing his message of hope to the streets of San Francisco.
When Larry died, his family and friends were utterly devastated. His life was an example of radical change. He had blessed so many. The donation is in honor of Larry’s story and his journey of faith in Jesus. I truly hope it encourages and blesses others.”
“Hunger is not a problem. It is an obscenity. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” -Anne Frank
One out of five Chicagoans experiences food insecurity. For many people experiencing homelessness, access to good, nutritious food is a daily problem. The CCO kitchen served 122,193 meals to shelter guests in 2021. Over half of those served were children under 18 years old.
Whatever the age, nutrition is a basic human right. With your help, we have been able to create delicious meals for the families, women, and men who find shelter at CCO. On any given day you could find a mother of four having breakfast with her children before walking them to school, a single woman having lunch before heading to her job, or a senior citizen man having dinner and chatting to other shelter guests. Nutritious meals are a critical component to the services CCO provides.
Some CCO shelter guests leave a variety of substandard situations before entering the shelter, such as living in vehicles, in overcrowded housing situations, or on the bus or train. In these difficult circumstances, many have found it difficult to get the nutrition they need for work, school, or daily activities.
We are grateful that CCO can be a place to recover from the devastating effects of poverty and homelessness. Thank you for joining us in that effort! Please consider donating today.
Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.” – Unknown
We hope you enjoyed looking back at the holiday season at Cornerstone! Your generous support, and financial donations, helped to create a holiday that the children and adults at CCO will fondly recall for years to come.
It’s a joy to highlight Christmas because it’s a season of gifts, food, and fun for our shelter guests. However, Cornerstone keeps its doors open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, welcoming those in need of safety, warmth, and shelter. The important work doesn’t stop! It continues well after the Christmas trees are packed away and put in storage.
Please consider making an ongoing donation that will allow CCO to continue to meet the needs of families experiencing homelessness, whether it’s winter, spring, summer, or fall. Your support is needed and genuinely appreciated!
Greetings from Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO)! As another adventurous year comes to a close, we are deeply grateful for your support in making it all possible. This year, we’ve seen continued success in housing our shelter participants, thanks to new housing initiatives offered by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services and All Chicago.
A senior Vietnam vet, homeless for over 40 years, finally secured permanent housing. Another story involves a woman who lived on a park bench for months, resistant to help. Through patient conversations and trust-building, she not only moved into her own apartment but also reunited with her daughters, who had been searching for her. Thank you for helping us create life-changing stories like these!
Most people would never consider running 500 days straight through snow, heat, rain, and a global pandemic but Tim Necas is not most people. Tim’s desire to break a former running streak of 35 days in a row gradually turned into a personal mission to run 500 consecutive days. He did it while raising funds for those experiencing homelessness at CCO.
