Just east of the roaring Dan Ryan Expressway, in an undeveloped patch of trees and grass along DesPlaines Street north of Roosevelt Road, exists a community where dozens of people have set up shelters with tents and blankets.
“It’s an interesting situation,” said Mark Lightfoot, a senior mental health service provider at Heartland Alliance Health, as a van filled with outreach coordinators made its way to the encampment Friday morning. “It’s a bad situation, but they’re making it work for them with limited resources.”
