Southside Center of Hope

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Southside Center of Hope

Helping women learn to live from from substance use addiction and to re-enter the community.

Southside Center of Hope has helped more than 4,000 women with children recover from homelessness and the disease of addiction.

10/01/2026

We are proud to introduce plans for the next chapter of Southside Center of Hope's work: the Shelter Recovery Outreach Program.

Through partnerships with shelters across the South Side of Chicago, Southside Center of Hope will bring recovery support directly to individuals where they are.

Those living in temporary shelters who experience substance use challenges face barriers to accessing traditional recovery services.

They may be ready for help but not know where to begin; they are also coping with housing instability, family separation, trauma, and mental health concerns.

Our outreach initiative is designed to help close the gap -- and is an important first step in our larger vision to restore and expand comprehensive recovery services for women and children on the South Side.

Stay tuned for more information!

Together, we can bring hope, healing, and recovery within reach.

09/28/2026

Happy Birthday to our beloved co-founder, Sister Therese!

Sister Therese’s life has been shaped by a deep commitment to teaching, faith, and service.

After 18 years as a first-grade teacher in Woodlawn, she answered a new call: to help women and children facing homelessness.

In 1983, she and Sister Connie Driscoll opened what was then St. Martin de Porres House of Hope with a simple but powerful vision: a safe place where women could bring their children and begin building a new future.

That vision grew into the Southside Center of Hope we know today. For more than three decades, Sister Therese served women and families with compassion, dignity, and an unwavering belief in their potential.

Her legacy lives on in every life touched, every family supported, and every new beginning made possible through this work.

Sister Therese, thank you for the love, courage, and hope you have shared. We are grateful for you and wish you a beautiful birthday filled with joy and all the care you have given to others.

Please join us in wishing Sister Therese a very happy birthday!

09/25/2026

The number of Americans who face hunger is rising -- due to higher grocery prices combined with cuts to federal food assistance.

🚨 A quarter of those who've lost benefits -- at least 1.2M -- are children.

When a child doesn't have enough to eat, they're more likely to get sick, exhibit behavioral and mental health challenges, and struggle academically.

📢 You can take action to prevent hunger at Independence House by making a purchase from Southside Center of Hope's Amazon Wishlist for Hunger Action Month.

All donations go to Independence House residents to prevent hunger.

Give today at https://a.co/0fIgWXjd.
Thank you!

09/15/2026

Generous donors, sponsors, and supporters like you make our work possible!

Special thanks this month goes to the Exelon Foundation and JP Morgan Chase for generous gifts in support of our mission.

We’re also grateful to donors to our Back to School Campaign for helping us provide school supplies and backpacks to Independence House students.

Thank you!

09/13/2026

There’s something special about turning the key to a place you can finally call home.

We welcomed another new family to Independence House, where they are beginning a new chapter in a safe and stable home. Through our partnership with Bob’s Discount Furniture, the family was also able to select furniture to help transform their new apartment into a comfortable place of their own.

For families experiencing housing instability, having a home is about more than four walls. It provides a foundation for stability, security, and the opportunity to build toward a brighter future.

09/10/2026

This National Recovery Month, we’re taking a look back at our history.

Southside Center of Hope formerly St. Martin de Porres House of Hope thanks to our founders Sister Therese and Sister Connie, provided a residential recovery program where women, many of them mothers, could find a safe and supportive place to begin rebuilding their lives while keeping their families together.

Today, we honor one of our past graduating classes and celebrate the courage, determination, and hard work represented in this photo. Each graduation marked more than the completion of a program, it represented hope, healing, renewed possibilities, and another step forward in recovery.

As Southside Center of Hope continues to grow and prepare for the next chapter of our recovery services, we remain inspired by the women who walked through our doors, completed the program, and showed us that recovery is possible.

During National Recovery Month, we celebrate them, and everyone who continues to choose recovery, one day at a time.

Their journeys are part of our history. Their strength continues to shape our future.

09/08/2026

Valerie Harris was part of the SSCOH recovery program staff from 2018 to 2020 as a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Consultant.

This fall and winter she is facilitating a 6-session women's group at Independence House through her foundation, the Makings of You Foundation.

Her Soul Therapy™ Women’s Healing Circles support emotional wellness, recovery, coping skills, self-reflection, personal development, and connection. They are designed to help women understand how life experiences, family patterns, and inherited survival strategies shape their lives today and how to begin healing with greater clarity and intention.

Valerie says, “My hope is that the women feel seen, safe, connected, and less alone while gaining practical tools to support their recovery and emotional well-being.”

09/01/2026

Chicago students started school last week -- and Independence House students went back to school with backpacks and school supplies provided by our faithful supporters.

We also have a new tutoring program starting this fall, and a new women's group met for the first time in July.

Every resource, every program, every opportunity for connection we offer is only possible because someone like you made a decision to give to vulnerable families in need. Our team doesn't take it for granted.

Thank you for making good things possible for the our clients!

08/27/2026

You can create a lasting impact at Southside Center of Hope while also meeting your financial goals and the needs of your loved ones.

By including Southside Center of Hope in your will, trust, or other estate plans, you will sustain the programs and services that support women and families as they work toward stability, healing, and a brighter future.

Interested in learning more?

Send an email to [email protected] for more information and resources to make the process as simple as possible.

08/17/2026

23 Backpacks. 23 Reasons to Hope.

Thanks to the generosity of our amazing supporters, Southside Center of Hope distributed 23 backpacks to children at Independence House as they prepare for the new school year! We are grateful to everyone who helped make our Back-to-School Giveaway possible. Together, we're helping our children start the school year prepared, confident and ready to succeed.

Here’s to a bright and successful school year to all the students headed back to school!

Address

2425 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL
60612

Website

http://www.southsidecenterofhope.org/

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