To our coalition partners,
Today we’re sharing our Quarter 2 report, Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty, the latest in our Federal Changes, Community Consequences series.
The data in this report reflects a sector still in limbo. Providers navigating uncertainty in their operations. Families unsure of what support will still be there tomorrow. Communities carrying stress that doesn’t always show up neatly in a spreadsheet. Many of the topline indicators look familiar, not because the moment is stable, but because uncertainty itself has become a constant.
What the report cannot fully capture is what was happening in real time during and immediately after this data was collected. ICE activity instilling fear in communities and keeping families from seeking support. The longest government shutdown in history. Chaos and confusion around the Continuum of Care NOFO. An end of year cut to after-school programming for 19,000 children resulting in layoffs of hundreds of staff. And now, in this new year, proposed freezes to vital child-care and social service programs and the abrupt cancellation of SAMHSA grants.
This report is a snapshot in time, taken before many of those harms escalated. In that way, it reads less like a look back, and more like a warning.
This series is our drumbeat – a refusal to let the damage of this administration’s decisions be minimized, normalized, or forgotten. We will document what is happening to community providers and the people they serve. We will tell the truth, clearly and collectively. And we will continue to fight back, together.
Thank you for continuing to share your data, your experiences, and your trust. Your stories matter, and we are going to keep telling them.
In solidarity,
Lauren
Executive Director, Illinois Partners for Human Service
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