Symposium
The Legal Landscape of Homelessness: Rights, Remedies, and Restoring Dignity
Co-Sponsored by the Public Interest Law Reporter
Friday, April 4, 2025
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Philip Corboy Law Center
25 East Pearson Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Power Rogers & Smith Ceremonial Courtroom, 10th Floor
This symposium will delve into the complexities of homelessness in the United States, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, and the legal landscape surrounding the criminalization of homelessness and the rights of people who are unhoused. It also will explore factors contributing to dramatic increases in homelessness and discuss community responses and solutions. The symposium will feature Antonia Fasanelli, executive director of the National Homelessness Law Center, as well as other national and local experts on homelessness, housing law and policy, and response.
This program has been approved for 5 hours of CLE credits.
Featured Speaker: Antonia Fasanelli, Executive Director of the National Homelessness Law Center
Antonia Fasanelli became the Executive Director of the National Homelessness Law Center in April 2021. Previously, she was Executive Director of the Homeless Persons Representation Project, Inc. (HPRP), a Maryland-based civil legal aid organization committed to changing the systems that contribute to poverty and homelessness. During her thirteen-year tenure at HPRP, she incubated innovative civil legal aid projects legal assistance to all persons experiencing homelessness, including youth and veterans—as well as systemic initiatives to decriminalize homelessness and advance policies to end homelessness, all by lifting the voices of persons most affected by homelessness.
Read Antonia Fasanelli's full bio
Prior to joining HPRP, Ms. Fasanelli was an attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. She led the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI), the Legal Clinic’s project on affordable housing preservation and expansion. As part of her work with AHI, Ms. Fasanelli advised, represented, or consulted on the representation of tenants or tenant associations at risk of displacement from over 3,000 units of affordable housing.
From 2011-2014, Ms. Fasanelli was Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Homelessness & Poverty, of which she had been a Commissioner since July 2009. She is currently co-Chair of the Economic Justice Committee of the ABA Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice and was previously Chair of the Legal Services Committee for the ABA Commission on Veterans Legal Services. From November 2010 to June 2014, she was a member of the Maryland Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Pro Bono and in 2014, was appointed a member of the Journey Home Board, which oversaw Baltimore City’s 10-year Plan to End Homelessness.
In 2013, Ms. Fasanelli was chosen as a Leading Woman by The Daily Record and in 2011, Ms. Fasanelli was a recipient of the Leadership in Law Award from The Daily Record. In 2016, Ms. Fasanelli received the Benjamin L. Cardin Distinguished Service Award from the Maryland Legal Services Corporation.
Ms. Fasanelli received her J.D. magna cum laude from the Washington College of Law, American University in 2001 and her B.A. cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University in 1996. From 2001 to 2002, Ms. Fasanelli was a law clerk to The Honorable Barefoot Sanders of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Prior to law school, Ms. Fasanelli was an Americorps*VISTA Outreach Coordinator at the Law Center.
Featured Musician: Julian Davis Reid
Julian Davis Reid (M.Div., Candler School of Theology) is the husband of Carmen and father of Lydia, a son and brother, and a Black artist-theologian of Chicago who uses words and music to address our restless condition. A musician, speaker, and writer, Julian is the founder of the ministry Notes of Rest®, which invites the weary to listen for God’s transformative rest practiced in the Bible and Black music. Julian has released numerous records, including with his own ensemble Circle of Trust and the jazz-electronic fusion group The JuJu Exchange. Some of his most recent releases are When Souls Cry Out, released on Inauguration Day 2025, and Beside Still Waters, released on Election Day 2024.
Read Julian Davis Reid's full bio
Julian has performed at the Montreal Jazz Fest, The Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall, Lollapalooza, and the Berlin Jazz Fest. He has worked or performed with Jennifer Hudson, Chance the Rapper, Tank and the Bangas, Andrew Bird, Jamila Woods, Derrick Hodge, Isaiah Collier, and Abiodun Oyewole from The Last Poets. An award winning writer, Julian has contributed chapters on Notes of Rest to forthcoming books from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Duke Divinity School, and Princeton Theological Seminary respectively. He writes about faith, music, Blackness, and rest on his Substack “Julian’s Note.” Julian also consults with the boutique consultancy Fearless Dialogues. His work has been covered in The New York Times, Forbes, Sojourners, Billboard, and Downbeat.
Agenda
8:30–9:00 a.m. — Registration & Breakfast
9:00 a.m. — Introductions & Opening Remembrance
- Welcome from the Rodin Center for Social Justice & Public Interest Law Reporter – Kate Mitchell, Director Rodin Center for Social Justice and Ally Hayes, Symposium Editor of PILR and Rodin Fellow
- Welcome from the Dean – Michèle Alexandre
- Introduction of Julian Davis Reid - Sharon Kirchner, Rodin Fellow
- Musical performance by Julian Davis Reid - piece composed in remembrance of the four unhoused individuals who were murdered on the blue line train in Chicago last year
9:15 a.m. — Featured Speaker
- Introduction: Yael Pineda Chavez, Rodin Fellow
- Antonia Fasanelli, Executive Director of the National Homelessness Law Center
10:15 a.m.–10:30 a.m. — Break
10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. — The Law and Homelessness: From Criminalization to Compassion
Introductions: Ally Hayes, Rodin Fellow
Moderator: Richard Weinmeyer, Assistant Professor of Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- Ronie Hochbaum, Associate Clinical Professor or Law, Director, Buccola Family Homeless Advocacy Clinic, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
- Niya Kelly, Director or State Legislative Policy, Equity, and Transformation, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
- Cynthia Corneluis, Director of Support Programs, Cabrini Green Legal Aid
- Kevin John Olickal, Illinois State Representative
12:00 p.m–12:30 p.m. — Break/Lunch
12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m. — Advocacy for Access to Housing
Introductions: Dede Benissan, Rodin Fellow
Moderator: Constance Young, Rodin Fellow
- Stephen Brown, Director of Preventive Emergency Medicine, Senior Director, Business Development, University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System
- Christian Diaz, Director of Equitable Development, Palenque
- Michelle Gilbert, Legal & Policy Director, Law Center for Better Housing
- Dontay Lockett, Board Member, RedLine Service
- Bob Palmer, Policy Director, Housing Action Illinois
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. — Local Challenges and Local Response
Introductions: Lindsay Nicholas, Rodin Fellow
Moderator: Elizabeth Martinez, Rodin Fellow
- Sherri Allen Reeves, Executive Director, Phoenix Foundation, NFP (PHX-NFP)
- April Harris, Advocate and Speaker, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
- Lauren Hersch, Co-Founder of Rayo Counseling and Community Co-op
- Dana Madigan, Research Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
- Gwynne Mashon, Associate Director, Public Benefits Practice Group, Legal Aid Chicago
3:00 p.m. — Final remarks & thank you's
- Kate Mitchell, Director of the Rodin Center
Panels
Panel 1: The Law and Homelessness: From Criminalization to Compassion
Cynthia Cornelius, Director of Support Programs at Cabrini Green Legal Aid
Cynthia Cornelius is Director of Support Programs at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) where she oversees the delivery of legal support services and wrap-around social services for civil, criminal defense, and criminal and juvenile records relief programs. Cynthia began her engagement with CGLA as a law student intern in the criminal records program in 2009. She has been employed with CGLA since 2012 following her graduation from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Cynthia was a “non-traditional” law student, having accumulated over 30 years of professional and managerial experience in diverse fields, including information technology, process reengineering, and consumer advocacy before enrolling in law school.
Niya Kelly, Director of State Legislative, Equity and Transformation at the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
Niya Kelly attended Loyola University Chicago, receiving her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Juris Doctor degrees. She is currently the Director of State Legislative, Equity and Transformation at the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness. Her work focuses on the Illinois state budget, homeless education, public benefits, youth homelessness, and housing insecurity policies. In her work, she has written and advocated several pieces of legislation including providing new housing opportunities for minors experiencing homelessness; access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for community college students experiencing food insecurity; access to free birth certificates for people experiencing homelessness; an increase to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant for families; changing the child support system to ensure families receive all funds paid, and broadening mental health services for minors in need.
Ron Hochbaum, Associate Clinical Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law; Director of the Buccola Family Homeless Advocacy Clinic
Ron Hochbaum is an Associate Clinical Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law where he directs the Buccola Family Homeless Advocacy Clinic and teaches Poverty Law. Before joining the faculty at McGeorge, Professor Hochbaum was an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and a clinical teaching fellow at both Loyola University Chicago and Cornell University. In practice, Professor Hochbaum worked first as a Staff Attorney and then a Supervising Attorney at the Homeless Action Center in Berkeley and Oakland, California.
Professor Hochbaum’s research explores the criminalization of homelessness, situating it at the intersection of scholarship on the criminalization of poverty and critical outsider jurisprudence. His work examines the interplay between the criminalization of poverty and the ever-evolving nature of segregation. In the process, he demonstrates that anti-homeless bias and the intersections of homelessness and race, gender, disability and LGBTQIA+ identity drive our expanding definition of crime and the effort to equate homelessness with danger and criminality.
Kevin John Olickal, State Representative for Illinois’ 16th District
State Representative Kevin John Olickal is the son of immigrants and lifelong resident of Skokie. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from The Ohio State University and is currently pursuing his Juris Doctor from the School of Law at Loyola University Chicago. Before serving in the Illinois General Assembly, Rep. Olickal worked on the House Democratic Staff and as a Cook County COVID-19 Recovery Specialist for Small Businesses. In addition to being a full-time State Representative for Illinois’ 16th District and a part-time law student, he serves as President of the Indo-American Democratic Organization. Rep. Olickal has a passion and a proven record in fighting for working families, progressive criminal justice reform, reproductive rights, and public education.
Panel 2: Advocacy for Access to Housing
Stephen Brown, MSW, LCSW, Director of Preventive Emergency Medicine, Senior Director, Business Development, University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System
Stephen Brown, MSW LCSW, Director of Preventive Emergency Medicine, Senior Director, Business Development, Institute of Healthcare Delivery Design (IHDD), University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health) has split appointments between the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design (IHDD) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He leads the Better Health Through Housing program, UI Health’s housing program for the chronically homeless. It is the longest running healthcare-to-housing program (since 2015) and has housed more homeless persons than any other single hospital in the country. He also runs ComPAcT, a team-based care program that works to better coordinate the care for healthcare super-utilizers.
Christian Diaz, Director of Equitable Community Development, Palenque
Christian Diaz is the Director of Equitable Community Development at Palenque LSNA, formerly Logan Square Neighborhood Association, a community organization that has been developing leaders and advancing racial equity in Chicago for 60 years. Previously, he served as executive director of Chicago Votes where he designed models of civic innovation with young people in Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges of Chicago and helped steer a coalition to pass Automatic Voter Registration in Illinois. Born in Mexico, Christian identifies as queer, latino and immigrant. He brings 10+ years of experience in nonprofit management, community engagement and racial equity advocacy, having worked in coalitions to win driver’s licenses for undocumented residents, to require data transparency on student arrests in publicly-funded schools, and to ban 10-day suspensions of high school students in Illinois. Christian graduated with a B.A. in Global Studies at Warren Wilson College in 2012. In earlier lives, Christian volunteered at a home for children with disabilities in northern India, worked at a wolf sanctuary in Rural New Mexico and taught English at a monastery in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Michelle J. Gilbert, Legal and Policy Director at Law Center for Better Housing
Michelle J. Gilbert became Legal and Policy Director at Law Center for Better Housing in Fall 2020. In that role, she has advocated regarding emergency rental assistance programs and eviction court reform, helped create the eviction court Early Resolution Program, and manages the Chicago Right to Counsel Pilot Project.
She came to LCBH with 30 years' experience at Legal Aid Chicago. She had been a Supervisory Attorney in the Housing Practice Group since its inception in 2011. Previously, she was Supervisory Attorney and Project Director of Legal Assistance Foundation’s HIV Project. In 2021, she received the Chicago Bar Foundation Thomas Morsch Award for Public Service. Previously, she received the 2003 Legal Assistance Foundation Equal Justice Award for enforcing the due process rights of tenants and 2006 and 2012 AIDS Foundation of Chicago awards for advocacy for housing rights of people with HIV.
Prior to her career in legal aid, she was associated with Jenner & Block and Rikvin, Radler, Dunn, & Bayh. Michelle graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she served as Note Editor of the University of Illinois Law Review and received the Rickert Award for academic excellence, and has since served on its Alumni Board.
Dontay Lockett, Board Member for RedLine Service
Dontay Lockett experienced homelessness throughout his childhood, spending his teen years commuting more than an hour each way from a shelter to his high school. His precarious living situation made staying on top of his studies extremely difficult. Dontay’s track coach later became his legal guardian, providing him with more stability to pursue his dreams. “My guardian inspired me to think about and want to go to college,” Dontay recalls. “Having a mentor like that pushed me on different paths, whether academics, sports, or art.” Dontay won a renewable college scholarship from the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness (CCH) in 2016, earning a bachelor’s degree in Illustration in 2020. Dontay continues to advocate for families like his. In 2019, he spoke at a CCH-led press conference at Chicago City Hall, sharing the challenges he faced growing up and urging elected officials to invest more funds to ending homelessness.
Dontay works as a special education paraprofessional at Chicago Public Schools, supporting students with disabilities in the classroom. He also coaches basketball, track, and cross country. He is also an active Board member of Red Line Service, the only arts organization in Chicago - and one of the few world-wide - led by people with lived experience of homelessness.
RedLine Service is a community of artists and art lovers with a lived experience of houselessness working together with professionals in the arts to reduce barriers to the arts for all. We insist - as unhoused or housing & food insecure artists and art lovers - that we lead, uplift and sustain the community, with support from professionals in the arts, as co-producers. Some of us want access to arts programming that we can consume and enjoy. Others of us, strive for careers and recognition in the arts. We all acknowledge that the lack of fulfilling cultural experiences, precarious wages, food insecurity and high cost of transportation hinder our success and our ability to live enriching cultural lives. Through art programming, art-making and forging social bonds, we cultivate abundant collective care.
Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action Illinois
Bob Palmer (he/him), Policy Director for Housing Action Illinois, has more than 30 years of experience in housing organizing, advocacy, training, and finance. He joined Housing Action in September 2002. He has been a leader on successful campaigns to create and fund a state rental subsidy program for extremely low-income households, secure money for affordable housing in Illinois’ capital budget for the first time, pass state legislation protecting homeowners and renters during the foreclosure process, and increase state funding to prevent and end homelessness. Recent wins include new rules and funding protecting children in Illinois from lead poisoning, state law protections for homebuyers considering rent-to-own contracts, getting more than $300 million in federal funding dedicated in the state budget for COVID-19-related emergency rent and mortgage assistance, and working with partners to pass statewide “source of income” fair housing protections.
Bob was on the board of the National Low Income Housing Coalition between 2013 and 2022. He holds a certificate in Urban Housing Development and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Beloit College.
Panel 3: Local Challenges and Local Response
Sherri Allen-Reeves, Executive Director of Phoenix Foundation, NFP (PHX-NFP)
Sherri Allen-Reeves, Executive Director of Phoenix Foundation, NFP (PHX-NFP), has passionately worked in the service of others for over 30 years and is a vocal advocate for homeless and other disenfranchised people. Under her leadership, PHX-NFP opened Phoenix Rising Emergency Triage Shelter, an 85-bed non-congregant shelter for single men and women, an Access Point for the Coordinated Entry System, created 38 units of Rapid Rehousing, and partnering with the Center for Housing and Health, providing Case Management for 40 families in Permanent Supportive Housing.
In 2024 Sherri was appointed to the Illinois Community Advisory Council on Homelessness, by Governor JB Pritzker. As a member of the Illinois Racial Equity Roundtable on Black Homelessness, Sherri significantly influenced the University of Illinois at Chicago report, "Black Homelessness in Illinois: Structural Drivers of Inequality. Her commitment to service includes Board Member roles for the Chicago Continuum of Care, Supportive Housing Providers Association, Legal Council for Health Justice, and the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices. She is also a member of the National Alliance to End Homelessness BIPOC Collective and Leadership Council, the Collaborative on Child Homelessness Illinois Leadership Committee, Rotary Club Chicago Southeast, and founder of the Renaissance Bronzeville Toastmasters Club. Sherri holds a BA in Counseling from Midwest Theological Institute.
April Harris, Advocate and Speaker with the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
April Harris first experienced homelessness with her husband and two young children in 2014. Originally from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, they were forced to relocate to Chicago for safety reasons. Navigating their way through the shelter system in Chicago was not an easy task. April and her family experienced homelessness for two years before finally securing housing through LUCHA. April has worked with the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness and as a grassroots organizer on the Bring Chicago Home Campaign. April’s family is her strength and fuel to continue her advocacy work for those experiencing homelessness.
Lauren Hersch, LCSW, Co-Founder of Rayo Counseling and Community Co-op
Lauren Hersch (she/they) is an LCSW and Co-Founder of Rayo Counseling and Community Co-op, Illinois' first worker-led, democratically organized Community Mental Health Center. Lauren provides psychoanalytic psychotherapy, as well as case management, advocacy and community support services. She is a passionate mental health activist, and is engaged in several associated projects including The 606 Project, which works to increase access to psychoanalytic treatments for psychosis in Chicago, and the Mental Health Autonomy Alliance, dedicated to promoting mental health autonomy in Illinois through legislation, education and practice.
She came to LCBH with 30 years' experience at Legal Aid Chicago. She had been a Supervisory Attorney in the Housing Practice Group since its inception in 2011. Previously, she was Supervisory Attorney and Project Director of Legal Assistance Foundation’s HIV Project. In 2021, she received the Chicago Bar Foundation Thomas Morsch Award for Public Service. Previously, she received the 2003 Legal Assistance Foundation Equal Justice Award for enforcing the due process rights of tenants and 2006 and 2012 AIDS Foundation of Chicago awards for advocacy for housing rights of people with HIV.
Prior to her career in legal aid, she was associated with Jenner & Block and Rikvin, Radler, Dunn, & Bayh. Michelle graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she served as Note Editor of the University of Illinois Law Review and received the Rickert Award for academic excellence, and has since served on its Alumni Board.
Dana Madigan, Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
Dana Madigan is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, where she leads several projects related to homelessness, precarious employment, and occupational health. She is co-lead on the Illinois Statewide Morbidity and Mortality Report of Persons Experiencing Homelessness, the first statewide report using both morbidity and mortality data in the nation.
Gwynne Kizer Mashon, Associate Director in the Public Benefits Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago
Gwynne Kizer Mashon is an Associate Director in the Public Benefits Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago. She joined Legal Aid Chicago in 2020 after nine years in legal services in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA. Prior to joining Legal Aid Chicago, she served as the Director of Development and Advocacy at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS). In that role, she advocated for systemic solutions to end homelessness and hunger and to ensure low-income people can access vital medical care; represented clients in cases related to benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, and disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs; developed projects to prevent homelessness for people impacted by the criminal justice system; and participated in the city of New Orleans' Interagency Council to End Homelessness. In her current role, she oversees programs that help clients obtain, maintain, and maximize benefits from the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Social Security Administration, leads systemic advocacy projects to ensure vulnerable populations can access the food, cash, and medical assistance, and represents clients in administrative and judicial proceedings. Gwynne also leads Legal Aid Chicago's Homeless Services Task Force, which works to increase access to justice for people living in homelessness and at risk of homelessness. She holds a B.A. from Grinnell College and is a cum laude graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Symposium archive
Immigration & the Chicago Migrant Crisis - Friday, April 19, 2024
A symposium hosted by the Curt and Linda Rodin Center for Social Justice and cosponsored by the Center for the Human Rights of Children, the Civitas ChildLaw Center, the Health Justice Project, and the Center for Public Interest Law.
Friday, April 19, 2024
8:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M.
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Philip Corboy Law Center
25 East Pearson Street
Chicago, IL 60611
10th Floor - Power Rogers & Smith Ceremonial Courtroom, 10th Floor
This program has been approved for 4 hours of MCLE credits.
Featured Speaker: Oscar A. Chacón
Oscar A. Chacón is a co-founder and executive director of Alianza Americas, a national network of Latin American immigrant‐led and immigrant serving organizations in the US. Chacón is a frequent spokesperson, domestically and internationally, on economic, social, political, and cultural struggles involving Latin American immigrant communities, including the nexus between systemic inequities, democratic governance, the role of narratives, and human mobility.
Agenda
8:30 a.m. — Registration & Breakfast
9:00 a.m. — Introduction & Welcome
- Welcome from Dean Michèle Alexandre
- Introduction & Welcome from Kate Mitchell, Director of Rodin Center for Social Justice
- Introduction of Featured Speaker by Laura Christensen García, 3L, Rodin Fellow
9:10 a.m. — Featured Speaker
- Oscar A Chacón, Executive Director and co-founder of Alianza Americas https://www.alianzaamericas.org/press-release/freedomforall-as-congress-maintains-trump-era-funding-for-immigration-detention-u-s-migrant-leaders-call-to-end-criminalization-of-migrants/?lang=en
9:50 a.m. — Immigration Law and Policy: Drivers, Response, and Recommendations
Moderator:
- Julian Quiroga-Cubillos, 3L, Rodin Fellow
Speakers:
- Alejandra Palacios, Staff Attorney, International Human Rights Clinic, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
- Amanda Crews Slezak – National Immigrant Justice Center
- Katherine Greenslade, Director, Immigrant Justice Legal Clinic at The Resurrection Project
- Nubia Willman, Chief Program Officer, Latinos Progresando
11:00 a.m. — Intersections with the Legal System
Moderator:
- René Valenzeula, 2L, Rodin Fellow, Child Law Fellow
Speakers:
- Daniela Vélez-Clucas, Staff Attorney, Healthcare Justice/Immigration, Shriver Center on Poverty Law
- Alyssa Phillips, Education Attorney, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
- Sam Barth, Staff Attorney, Law Center for Better Housing
- Kevin Herrera, Legal Director, Raise the Floor
- Hena Mansori, Assistant Public Defender Supervisor, Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender
12:00 p.m. — Break and grab lunch
12:15 p.m. — Community Response: Resources and Challenges
Moderator:
- Yael Pineda Chávez, 2L, Rodin Fellow
Speakers:
- Candice Choo-Kang, Mutual Aid Volunteer, Research Program Coordinator, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
- Martha Armenta-Robles, MSW, Enlace
- Bianca Mena, Bilingual Staff Supervisor, DePaul Family and Community Services, DePaul University
- Ana Suarez Baca, Bilingual Coordinator, Chicago Public Schools
- Yessenia Castro-Caballero, Attending Physician, Hospital Based Medicine, Lurie Children's Hospital
- Beatriz Ponce De León, Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights, City of Chicago
1:30 p.m. — Thank you and get involved
Resources for Recent Arrivals
- Community Equity Response Collaborative Loyola:
- https://cercl.org/information-for-new-arrivals/
- Compilation of a range of resources for new arrivals related to access to Medicaid, School, Food, and other critical resources.
- Rentervention:
- https://rentervention.com
- Resources for folks with housing related questions.
- Get Care Illinois:
- https://getcareillinois.org
- Shriver Center for Poverty Law resources on eligibility for Medicaid and other health coverage.
- Get Covered Illinois:
- https://getcovered.illinois.gov
- Illinois Department of Health and Human Services webpage with resources for Medicaid and other health coverage.
- Forensic Assessment for Immigration Relief (FAIR) Clinic:
- https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/specialties-conditions/fair-clinic/
- Medical and psychological professionals performing forensic evaluations for asylum.
Organizations to Get Involved With:
Other Opportunities to Get Involved:
Co-Sponsored by the Public Interest Law Reporter
Friday, April 4, 2025
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Philip Corboy Law Center
25 East Pearson Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Power Rogers & Smith Ceremonial Courtroom, 10th Floor
This symposium will delve into the complexities of homelessness in the United States, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, and the legal landscape surrounding the criminalization of homelessness and the rights of people who are unhoused. It also will explore factors contributing to dramatic increases in homelessness and discuss community responses and solutions. The symposium will feature Antonia Fasanelli, executive director of the National Homelessness Law Center, as well as other national and local experts on homelessness, housing law and policy, and response.
This program has been approved for 5 hours of CLE credits.
Antonia Fasanelli became the Executive Director of the National Homelessness Law Center in April 2021. Previously, she was Executive Director of the Homeless Persons Representation Project, Inc. (HPRP), a Maryland-based civil legal aid organization committed to changing the systems that contribute to poverty and homelessness. During her thirteen-year tenure at HPRP, she incubated innovative civil legal aid projects legal assistance to all persons experiencing homelessness, including youth and veterans—as well as systemic initiatives to decriminalize homelessness and advance policies to end homelessness, all by lifting the voices of persons most affected by homelessness.
Julian Davis Reid (M.Div., Candler School of Theology) is the husband of Carmen and father of Lydia, a son and brother, and a Black artist-theologian of Chicago who uses words and music to address our restless condition. A musician, speaker, and writer, Julian is the founder of the ministry Notes of Rest®, which invites the weary to listen for God’s transformative rest practiced in the Bible and Black music. Julian has released numerous records, including with his own ensemble Circle of Trust and the jazz-electronic fusion group The JuJu Exchange. Some of his most recent releases are When Souls Cry Out, released on Inauguration Day 2025, and Beside Still Waters, released on Election Day 2024.
Agenda
8:30–9:00 a.m. — Registration & Breakfast
9:00 a.m. — Introductions & Opening Remembrance
- Welcome from the Rodin Center for Social Justice & Public Interest Law Reporter – Kate Mitchell, Director Rodin Center for Social Justice and Ally Hayes, Symposium Editor of PILR and Rodin Fellow
- Welcome from the Dean – Michèle Alexandre
- Introduction of Julian Davis Reid - Sharon Kirchner, Rodin Fellow
- Musical performance by Julian Davis Reid - piece composed in remembrance of the four unhoused individuals who were murdered on the blue line train in Chicago last year
9:15 a.m. — Featured Speaker
- Introduction: Yael Pineda Chavez, Rodin Fellow
- Antonia Fasanelli, Executive Director of the National Homelessness Law Center
10:15 a.m.–10:30 a.m. — Break
10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. — The Law and Homelessness: From Criminalization to Compassion
Introductions: Ally Hayes, Rodin Fellow
Moderator: Richard Weinmeyer, Assistant Professor of Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- Ronie Hochbaum, Associate Clinical Professor or Law, Director, Buccola Family Homeless Advocacy Clinic, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
- Niya Kelly, Director or State Legislative Policy, Equity, and Transformation, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
- Cynthia Corneluis, Director of Support Programs, Cabrini Green Legal Aid
- Kevin John Olickal, Illinois State Representative
12:00 p.m–12:30 p.m. — Break/Lunch
12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m. — Advocacy for Access to Housing
Introductions: Dede Benissan, Rodin Fellow
Moderator: Constance Young, Rodin Fellow
- Stephen Brown, Director of Preventive Emergency Medicine, Senior Director, Business Development, University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System
- Christian Diaz, Director of Equitable Development, Palenque
- Michelle Gilbert, Legal & Policy Director, Law Center for Better Housing
- Dontay Lockett, Board Member, RedLine Service
- Bob Palmer, Policy Director, Housing Action Illinois
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. — Local Challenges and Local Response
Introductions: Lindsay Nicholas, Rodin Fellow
Moderator: Elizabeth Martinez, Rodin Fellow
- Sherri Allen Reeves, Executive Director, Phoenix Foundation, NFP (PHX-NFP)
- April Harris, Advocate and Speaker, Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness
- Lauren Hersch, Co-Founder of Rayo Counseling and Community Co-op
- Dana Madigan, Research Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
- Gwynne Mashon, Associate Director, Public Benefits Practice Group, Legal Aid Chicago
3:00 p.m. — Final remarks & thank you's
- Kate Mitchell, Director of the Rodin Center