SJOM's History

SJOM opened its doors 27 years ago on March 19, 1981 when founder Fr. David Staszak responded to the growing need of homeless people coming to the church rectory asking for a place to sleep.

He began SJOM as an emergency shelter in the heart of Chicago’s Pilsen community with the belief that all individuals should have a suitable place to live and the opportunity to make a better life for themselves.

After a devastating fire destroyed the first program site, Fr. David was able to raise $300,000 to reopen the mission.

It is with the tenacity and vision first displayed by its founder that SJOM continues to grow and progress its services and mission to support the changing needs of the homeless population.

In the fall of 1999 SJOM converted its emergency shelter to a more service-intensive residential program. It transitioned again in 2003 and continues today as an interim housing program, following the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness’ Strategic Plan, Getting Housed, Staying Housed.

This means that today, SJOM works within the City’s plan to end homelessness in Chicagoland by offering 34 participants at any given time 24-hour living accommodations and an individualized program of case management, career coaching, life skills training, referral and follow-up services within a community.

SJOM’s services are offered on a non-discriminatory basis to men of all races, religions, sexual orientation, and national origins. However, because the agency is in a predominantly Latino community, an important focus is to meet the cultural and language needs of Spanish-speaking persons.