St. Leonard’s Ministries

St. Leonard's House

As a transition center for formerly incarcerated individuals, St. Leonard’s Ministries provides housing and case management services. Services include addiction counseling, life skills and job counseling, employment referral services, and education services.

Description

St. Leonard’s House opened in 1954 as a product of the work of Father James Jones, Episcopal Chaplain at the Cook County Jail. In 2000, the agency name was changed to St. Leonard’s Ministries.

St. Leonard’s Ministries provides housing and case management services for ex-offenders transitioning back to the community. St. Leonard’s Ministries manages St. Leonard’s House (emergency services for 40 men), Grace House (emergency services for 16 women), and St. Andrew’s Court (second stage housing for 42 men who have completed programs at St. Leonard’s House). Residents learn about the program when they are in prison from field service counselors or from their parole officers.

About 350 men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 use the services provided by St. Leonard’s Ministries. These services include: ongoing addictions counseling; counseling related to life skills and coping skills; job counseling and employment referrals services; adult educational programs and educational referrals; aftercare/ mentoring services; community networking opportunities; and recreational activities.

St. Leonard’s Ministries works closely with the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Chicago Department of Human Services, the Illinois Department of Human Services, the United Way, and with other social service providers in the Chicago area. Other important collaborative partners include: the Cathedral Shelter of Chicago, which provides drug counseling and tutoring; Lakefront Supportive Housing, which helps provide postprogram housing; Chicago Legal Assistance to Incarcerated Women, which provides counseling and support work, the Alder School of Professional Psychology, which provides psychological assessment and counseling services through a contract funded by the Chicago Department of Human Service.