Finding Stability: An Evaluation of Graduates of Chicago Christian Industrial League's Single Adult Program
(7/1/2004 – 3/31/2007)
Courtesy of the Chicago Christian Industrial League.
The Chicago Christian Industrial League (CCIL or the League) is a long-standing social service agency located on the West Side of Chicago. CCIL strives to challenge the effects of poverty in Chicago through its residential programs for formerly homeless single males and families. CCIL’s residential programs consist of classes, programs, and services such as employment, housing, education, and life skills training in order for residents to gain skills for future self-sufficiency and independence.
CCIL partnered with the Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) at Loyola University Chicago to conduct an evaluation of CCIL’s 18-month residential program. Using a collaborative approach, CCIL and CURL conducted a participatory evaluation to assess how former residents of CCIL’s 18-month single male program experience stability after their departure from CCIL. The evaluation team defined “stability” as the maintenance of the skills and gains an individual achieved at the League. Stability was conceptualized on a continuum, with varying indicators of stability including housing, employment, physical and mental health, sobriety, and social support. These various indicators of stability should be thought of as a process rather than an outcome.
The evaluation team consisted of various stakeholders, including CCIL staff, CCIL alumni and CURL staff and fellows. Groups of CCIL alumni and CCIL residents advised the evaluation team in the design of pre-departure and post-departure interview instruments. Their contribution helped to ensure that the pre-departure and post-departure interviews were pertinent to the experiences of CCIL residents and alumni.
Research Team:
A. Sharma, CURL
D. Van Zytveld, CURL
J. Hilvers, Graduate Fellow
B. Huffman, Undergraduate Fellow
A. Vasquez, Undergraduate Fellow
S. Werner,Undergraduate Fellow
M. Trutanich, Urban Studies Student
Community Partner: