Franciscan Outreach Association

Specialties

At our Marquard Center at 1645 W LeMoyne, we have a soup kitchen that serves dinner every night of the year from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. We also have showers and a free drop off laundry service. We also have an overnight homeless shelter called Franciscan House of Mary & Joseph at 2715 W Harrison that provides a safe place to sleep for 246 persons every night and provides supper, breakfast, a medical clinic, and mental health outreach workers. At both of these locations and at St Peter’s Church in the Loop, we have case managers who help our guests find whatever they need to build a better life, such as housing, jobs, identification cards, medical care, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment. Our Streets to Home program and Interim Housing program help guests get into housing as quickly as possible. We are in need of donations to keep our programs operating at full strength and volunteers to serve dinner.

History

Established in 1963.

We were started in 1963 by Fr Phil Marquard, OFM, when he saw a need for a half-​way house for ex-​offenders. We have had several programs over the years. Our shelter called Franciscan House of Mary & Joseph was opened in 1983. Our Marquard Center soup kitchen has been at its location since 1990. We’ve had case managers since 1995. We added our Streets to Home housing program in 2006 and our Interim Housing program at the shelter in 2011.