This year’s Run Home Chicago first inaugural race could not have been as influential or paramount for Chicago’s homeless community had it not been for the hard work of our local non-profit organzations. With 15 years of experience, Renaissance Social Services Inc. (RSSI) is helping end homelessness in Chicago through prevention, housing and supportive services and has continued to expand their agency’s visibility to the general public; these consequential and trivial initiatives not only promote a space and context for our Run Home Chicago race, but also help challenge the everyday misconceptions of those affected by homelessness.

Since the inception of its founding, Renaissance Social Services has taken a two-fold approach to providing quality housing to Chicago’s homeless, which rests on the separation between supportive services and building management. This clear split was initially desgined by Nancy Kapp, a for-profit developer of affordable housing and founder of RSSI, who realized that the low-income residents in the buildings she developed and managed needed more than a safe place to live. Kapp also recognized the residents wanted help with the skills necessary to escape the cyclical nature and systemic issues of poverty. With a push for a collaboration between business sector stakeholders and non-profit organizations within the community, Kapp founded the Board of Directors for Renaissance social Services Inc., and since that time, RSSI’s values and approach have been an integral aspect to Chicago’s supportive housing community.

Working with a multi-faceted client base, RSSI collaborates with developers and managers of affordable housing units to create environments in which their clients feel safe and comfortable within the space of their own homes. Over the course of working in the field, RSSI’s clients served have suffered from particular health issues that render housing affordability a more arduous task: 91% have mental health issues, 78% have substance abuse issues, 27% have physical health issues, 11% have suffered from domestic violence and 10% have HIV/AIDS. Bearing in mind the unique situations of every client, RSSI works carefully alongside disabled individuals and families to help facilitate the housing application process.

If you are interested in running with Renaissance Social Services at the Run Home Chicago race, pelase visit their Charity Team Profile on our site to learn more.