On any given night, WINGS two emergency shelters provide housing for those fleeing violent situations.

Our emergency shelters provide safe haven for victims, a place where violence cannot find them. WINGS operates two Safe Houses – one in the northwest suburbs and one on the southwest side of Chicago. Our two Safe Houses have the capacity to house 85 people each night.

Victims who are actively fleeing a violent situation can find refuge at our Safe Houses – with or without their children. Our Safe Houses provide temporary shelter, safety planning, food and clothing. The family and child advocates who staff our Safe Houses can also help residents access critical services such as counseling, legal advocacy, and assistance securing orders of protection.

WINGS nearly doubled its capacity for emergency shelter when it opened the doors of its WINGS Metro Safe House in Chicago in 2016. WINGS Metro is the first domestic violence shelter to open in Chicago in more than a decade.

Length of Stay: 3 to 4 months

WINGS has 162 houses and apartments throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.

WINGS Transitional and Permanent Housing and Rapid Rehousing programs help survivors and their children continue to move forward with rebuilding their lives after escaping a violent situation.

Program participants are offered assistance with housing costs, counseling and employment services, providing the tools needed to help individuals and families move toward self-sufficiency.

Individuals escaping from domestic violence, can stay in the transitional housing units for up to two years, permanent housing is a long-term option for individuals with disabilities and rapid rehousing offers temporary rental assistance to help survivors maintain market rent.