Edgewater community center expanding to Lincoln Park
CHICAGO — An Edgewater community center is expanding to a second location and community leaders celebrated with a ceremonial groundbreaking in Lincoln Park on Sunday.
The $9 million ‘Care for Friends’ community center is expected to open in the spring of 2025, expanding to Lincoln Park.
“We started here in 1968 as a single meal program and we have grown into a flourishing nonprofit, providing holistic support to thousands of guests,” Care for Friends Executive Director Hope Pavich said.
The non-profit will also continue operations from its current site in Edgewater.
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The new space on Fullerton Parkway, shared with the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, will include a health clinic, offices, and a commercial-grade kitchen.
“They’re going to continue with grocery delivery service and all the hot meals that, right now, are serving not only our homeless community but also our new arrival community so well, and there’s such a need,” Ald. Timmy knudsen (43rd Ward) said.
The fundraising campaign has been years in the making, with a big boost from a $3-million state grant.
“There’s nothing more fulfilling than that in my role as a state legislator. It is such a pleasure to see this moving forward,” State Senator Sara Feigenholtz said.
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Care for Friends provides more than 10,000 hot meals every year to people who are unhoused, along with critical healthcare services, from substance use disorder treatment to podiatry.
And for their guests, leaders of the non-profit say the expansion will be much more than a new building.
“With this new facility, Care for Friends will be poised to live out our vision of shaping a future where access to food, housing, and healthcare is a reality for all,” Care for Friends Board Chair F.J. Phillips said.
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