Applications Now Open for Organizations Ready to Partner with the Cook County Homelessness Response Program

COOK COUNTY, Ill. — The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development (BED) announced today that qualified organizations may now apply for funding through the Cook County Prevention, Assistance, Transition to Housing (PATH) program. 

Applications to partner with Cook County PATH are due Aug. 26, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. BED will hold a webinar Aug. 5, 2026, at 10 a.m. Details are available on the BED open call webpage. 

"Cook County PATH supports our broader strategic vision to promote equitable neighborhood investment and improve housing outcomes, which is essential to building vital communities,” said BED Bureau Chief Xochitl Flores. “We are committed to partnering with organizations with the experience and ability to help us strengthen our social safety net and keep our communities healthy and safe.”  

Eligible applicants must deliver effective homelessness response services to residents of suburban Cook County. Eligible services include homelessness prevention, street outreach, diversion and rapid resolution services, emergency shelter operations, housing navigation, case management and other supportive services that assist households in obtaining and maintaining safe and stable housing. 

Cook County PATH supports a coordinated homelessness response system that includes service providers; the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, which coordinates the Cook County Continuum of Care; municipalities; health care organizations; and other stakeholders that work to improve outcomes for individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. 

To be eligible to partner with Cook County PATH, applicants must: 

• Be legally authorized to operate in the State of Illinois. 
• Possess at least five years of relevant homelessness or housing stability experience.  
• Use the Homelessness Management Information System to track participant data.  
• Follow policies and procedures set by the Cook County Continuum of Care. 

Applicants are encouraged to propose approaches that improve coordination, expand access, streamline service delivery, leverage data, integrate complementary services or pilot emerging best practices that can meaningfully improve outcomes. 

They should also be able to deliver services to residents of suburban Cook County that not only prevent homelessness and support households in crisis, but also advance innovative, gap‑filling strategies that strengthen and modernize the overall homelessness response system. 

For more information, visit the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development’s open call webpage. 

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