Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A Springfield organization continues to make progress toward a goal of ending homelessness in Sangamon County.
Heartland Housed tells the Sangamon County Board the number of people who were homeless and able to get into stable housing has gone up every year, from just under 100 when the agency started in 2019, to more than 400 in 2025.
But they’re a long way from done.
“If you look at the strategic plan, it tells you that as a community, we need to be somewhere around 765 each year, in terms of the number of people we’re helping to exit the system,” said Josh Sabo, Executive Director. “Even though we’re seeing growth and we’re seeing improvement, we still have a significant ways [sic] to go.”
One of the difficulties, he says, is the fact that fair market rental rates in Springfield have gone up 48 percent in recent years, making it difficult for homeless to become housed.
Aside from that, Sabo says his agency has a much better grasp on the homelessness problem. One of the ways that’s happening is through a “street team” — full- and part-time employees who go out to connect with the homeless population, and count them.
“For the first time in our community, that means we have staff who are devoted to working with people who are unsheltered, who are on the streets,” said Sabo, “working with them to figure out how to access care, access shelter, figuring out what services and programs might they be able to access or willing to access. It’s also helped us to be more responsive to community needs and community concerns.”
An app has been developed that businesses owners, for instance, can report unhoused they may feel Heartland Housed can check on. It’s currently available on Android devices, coming later this month to smart phones.
Right now, Sabo says, there are at least 72 homeless people in Springfield who don’t take advantage of shelters for whatever reason, and end up sleeping outside at night.
Heartland Housed operates through donations, and through local, state, and federal funding sources.
