Scattered-Site Housing Program: Creating A Foundation for Chosen Family

In 2013, Arick Buckles was working for Chicago House as an outreach manager in the Scattered-Site Housing Program (SSHP), which connects unstably housed individuals with affordable apartment units in their communities of origin. Through the Coordinated Entry System (CES), a centralized database of unhoused individuals in Chicago, Buckles would receive a person’s profile, outlining their housing status and barriers to housing. He worked directly in the community to meet with people who were unstably housed and assist them with finding an apartment. One such individual was Yolanda, who he met at an Uptown shelter.

Buckles worked with Yolanda for about a month after he helped her secure her own apartment—accompanying her on trips to Jewel and Walmart as she settled in her new place—before transitioning her care to a designated case manager. Though their time together was short, Yolanda left a lasting impression on Arick.

“My experience with Yolanda made me a better person,” says Buckles. “She asked all the tough questions, and more than anything, she wanted to help people.” At one point, Buckles began receiving calls from individuals whom he would later learn were contacts of Yolanda’s, seeking the same support she received through Chicago House. “She just had this desire to help so many of her peers back in the shelter.”

“Yolanda definitely always wanted to help people,” seconds Kim Sammons, SSHP’s Senior Housing Case Manager and one of Yolanda’s case managers. Sammons relays that Yolanda’s first priority was always to stay housed, but not far behind was giving others in her life a hand where she could. Having a space of her own allowed Yolanda to provide a space for her friends to gather and a couch for them to stay on if they needed to.

Yolanda 's mother and father died when she was 15 years old. Yolanda had no siblings, but she had a son who died young prior to Yolanda becoming homeless. Upon entering Chicago House’s program in 2013, she became friends with another Chicago House client in the same building who was also in need of chosen family. The two “immediately became best friends forever” and bonded like family; they took care of each other, forgave each other easily when they disagreed, and cooked holiday meals together. According to Sammons, “If one was struggling, the other would always call me and ask me to check in on them.”

Yolanda passed away in December 2021 at the age of 54, leaving an immense hole in the Chicago House community.

Her passing highlights the bittersweet reality of the work it takes for staff members like Arick and Kim to keep people housed. “Working in housing and doing Scattered-Site, you get to know people for so long and you build these relationships with people that are a big part of your life,” explains Sammons. “It’s a beautiful part of doing this job but it’s also really hard.” Sammons feels that Yolanda taught her how to resolve conflict in a loving way. “She was always very upfront, and if she didn’t like something you were doing, you would know immediately,” Sammons reflects. “She was very honest, and also forgiving.”

Buckles, now a Samaritan Housing Case Manager with SSHP, credits Yolanda with teaching him how to really listen to his clients and meet individuals where they are. His experience with Yolanda also instilled the importance of never judging a book by its cover when it comes to clients: “When I was the outreach worker for the Scattered-Site team, individuals came to me in writing as a print-out–that was this person’s life. On the outside, based on this piece of paper [Yolanda’s profile], I was expecting one thing. But Yolanda was more than what was written on that paper. She had a heart of gold. Systems [of care] break our clients down to nothing. There’s more to them than their risk factors.”

 “When you walk with her on the West side, everyone knows who she is, for better or worse,” says Sammons. “She was just really fun to be around. She lived on her own terms, which I think is about as good as it can get.”

Chicago House has been a beacon for individuals in need of housing since 1985, providing a safe, supportive place to live—and for many, like Yolanda, an affirming and dignified place to die.

 In loving memory, we invite you to support Yolanda’s family as they manage her funeral costs.