Individual tickets and tables can be purchased by calling Michael Banghart at (773) 645-8900, or you can purchase tickets online by going to our DONATE page and entering 'TICKETS' in the Designation line of the Network for Good web page where you enter the billing information.

On Saturday June 30th Renaissance Social Services brought 50 homeless individuals, parents and kids, and low income seniors to attend The Sword in the Stone at Quest Theatre Ensemble. It was a magical event for all who attended as kids and adults all enjoyed watching a young King Arthur learn that he was to be the anointed king of England. A special thank you to everyone who donated to sponsor the homeless families attending this event!

CHICAGO TRIBUNE CHARITIES ANNOUNCES GRANTS OF $930,000 TO CHICAGOLAND NONPROFITS THAT BATTLE HOMELESSNESS

Today, Governor Blagojevich announced that state money will help residents in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood and in suburban Matteson. 86 new housing units will be financed by state funds, tax credits and loans.
The developments are sponsored by Renaissance Social Services and the Matteson supportive housing project.

Chicago Tribune – November 9, 2005 (abridged)
WELL-TIMED AID HELPS RESCUE FAMILIES FROM THE BRINK OF DISASTER
by Charlene Sheehan, Tribune staff reporter

The Emergency Fund works through 44 social organizations entrenched in their respective communites. Organizations like Mujeres Latinas en Acciones in Pilsen and Little Village, and Renaissance Social Services, Inc. in Bucktown, Wicker Park and Logan Square.
“People come to us who have been homeless for the past year, and its almost always a matter of a bill, utility or something else,” said Michael Banghart, executive director of Renaissance Social Services. “They lost a job, got sick, went to the hospital and by the time they get a job, they can’t catch up.

The Booster – October 12, 2005
WICKER PARK AGENCY AIDS KATRINA VICTIMS
by Erin Meyer staff writer

Displaced by hurricane Katrina, two first-year law students from the University of Tulane in New Orleans are getting on with their lives and education thanks to Wicker Park based Renaissance Social Services.

Zeynep Greenday and Adrienne Thompson moved into a cozy two-bedroom subsidized housing unit at 2575 W. Lyndale Street in Logan Square three weeks ago. The Development is one of four low-income apartments served by the agency’s Housing Stability Program.

“This is what we do” said Michael Banghart, executive director of the agency. “We are working to set aside 10 to 20 additional units for Katrina victims if the need persists” The new apartment is a temporary residence. Both students intend to return to Tulane when the campus reopens. Until then they will be able to pay their rent through vouchers issued by FEMA and work as interns with Tressler, Soderstein, Maloney & Priess, a national law firm with a Chicago branch at the Sears Tower.

Renaissance is a small non-profit with a staff of only three social workers to serve more than 50 tenants through its Housing Stability Program. Still the agency was able to quickly locate available housing and provide Greenday and Thompson with furniture and other necessities as soon as the two women got off the plan without anything but the clothes they were wearing, said Banghart. That is because there is less bureaucracy and red tape when it comes to placing victims of Katrina or Chicago’s homeless in crises.“We have a unique relationship with the developer that enables us to better serve the people,” explained Banghart, who provides services for tenants in four low-income developments including one at 1527 N. Wicker Park Ave.

The agency was founded more than 10 years ago to help provide services in collaboration with the developer to low-income tenants on site.
Michael said the agency helps Renaissance tenants manage their finances, finds counseling medical attention and the closest food pantry among other services. “The way we are able to make this work is through the relationship we have with the Renaissance Companies and through partnerships with other agencies,” he explained.

In response to the Katrina crises, Banghart worked with a committee made up of community providers from the state, including HUD and the departments of Public Aid and Public Healthy, pacific Garden Mission, Chicago’s largest and the Emergency Fund, a local organization that provides cash for crises relief to people in need. Banghart and other service providers in Chicago got a glimpse of how effectively providers at the local, state and federal level can work, quickly together in the face of crises.
“The integrative approach and cooperation among provides worked very well following the Katrina crises,” Banghart said. “The down side is that we had to expend resources that already stretched thin. Some would say that Chicago is in fact in the midst of an ongoing homeless crises.”

Banghart said he hopes Chicago social service providers can learn from the experience and universalize the same methods to better serve the Chicago homeless population.“We already have a waiting list for subsidized housing from Chicago’s homeless population,” he added. “In this case of crises the government was able to create the vouchers. We have been crying about getting vouchers issued to Chicago Housing Authority people for years with little response.”

Renaissance Social Services is funded through government grants and private donations.

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