Privately-funded Covenant House Illinois has opened its first new location in 17 years at the 85-year-old art deco building. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who helped officially open the location last week, says it will increase the city’s capacity to serve and shelter homeless youth by 13 percent.

Homelessness overall in Chicago is declining, according to the city, with ten percent fewer people homeless at the end of 2015 than at the start of 2015. The number of youth shelter beds in Chicago has doubled in the past five years and funding for homeless services has increased by ten percent since 2011. Still, the city estimates that as many as 500 people between the ages of 16 and 24 experience homelessness on any given night in Chicago.

“These are young people who have aged out of the foster care system – or, sadly, maybe never have had a stable, safe place to call home,” says Joseph Mole (right), executive director of Covenant House Illinois. “One-third of the homeless youth in our city have been thrown out of their homes by a parent or guardian for a variety of reasons. They need help to stay away from gangs, drug dealers, child traffickers, and pimps who prey on these vulnerable youths. We give them support, compassion, a path out.”

Services at the new location will include breakfast and lunch, showers, laundry, lockers for safe storage of personal belongings, crisis care, case management, and a computer lab.