AM I ELIGIBLE FOR YWCA QUINCY PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING?

To be eligible, two things must be true for you or your family:

  1. You must already be homeless. Homeless means sleeping
    • Outdoors, in a vehicle, a structure with no power or water, or another place not meant for human habitation
    • Sleeping in an emergency shelter or domestic violence shelter
    • Sleeping at a hotel/motel paid for by a church or charity—not paid for by yourself or a friend/family member
    • Actively fleeing domestic violence (physical violence by someone who lives with you)
  2. You or someone in your household must have a disability or disabling condition such as Substance Use Disorder, mental health condition, HIV/AIDs, a physical disability, or developmental disability that directly substantially impedes your ability to get or keep housing on your own.

YWCA Quincy thoroughly and genuinely embraces equity, diversity, and inclusion and does not discriminate against any applicant, program participant, partner, or vendor based on religion, national origin, age, sex and gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, familial status, disability status, veteran status, or genetic information.

BOTH #1 AND #2 ARE TRUE FOR ME. HOW DO I APPLY?

  1. Fill out the PSH printable application and submit it.
  2. Print the Disability Verification Form and have your doctor, mental health professional, substance use counselor, or another professional fill it out. They will send it directly back to YWCA Quincy.

#1 AND/OR #2 AREN’T TRUE FOR ME, BUT I STILL NEED HOUSING. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

If you are “doubled up” (staying with a friend or family member consistently) or “couch surfing” (bouncing from place to place) you might be eligible for the Gap Housing Project.

Fill out the GAP Printable Application and submit it.

Continue to look for other housing options after submitting your application. See the bottom of this page for housing options.

KEEP WORKING ON OTHER HOUSING OPTIONS OUTSIDE OF THE YWCA QUINCY HOUSING PROGRAM.

Openings in YWCA Quincy housing are rare. Here are some other options:

DOES ANYTHING MAKE ME INELIGIBLE FOR YWCA QUINCY HOUSING?

Violent convictions, violations of orders of protection, and sex offenses might be a barrier to being eligible for YWCA Quincy housing. The following things do NOT make you ineligible for YWCA Quincy housing: low or no income, unemployment, non-violent/non-sexual criminal convictions, untreated mental health conditions, substance use relapse, not having custody of children. YWCA Quincy’s target population is women with children, but we also house folks without children and folks of all genders.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

YWCA Quincy will review your application, look up your criminal history, and seek information about how many times you’ve ever been homeless.

YWCA Quincy cannot use a traditional waitlist, we must use a prioritization list. When we have an opening, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (our main funder) requires that we take the applicant who has been homeless for the longest. It’s very important that if you have ever stayed at an emergency shelter, domestic violence shelter, or hotel/motel paid for by a church or charity you contact them and ask them to send your “entry and exit dates” to amandaerwin@ywcaquincy.org. That way we can make sure your lifetime length of time homeless is accurate. If you’ve ever slept outside, in a vehicle, in a building with no power and no water, or in another place not meant for human habitation we need proof of that. If a police officer, Park District employee, social worker, or another professional has a record of you sleeping outside, have them send it to AmandaErwin@ywcaquincy.org. Call YWCA Quincy (217-221-9922) if you’ve slept in a place like this, but don’t have any proof.

When we have an opening, we will call the applicant with the longest documented history of homelessness.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO LIVE IN YWCA QUINCY HOUSING PROGRAMS?

For an in-depth look at YWCA Quincy’s Permanent Supportive Housing and Gap Housing Project, see our Participant Handbook.