With the formal announcement of the closing of Hotel Chateau at the Housing Court hearing on Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by attorney Mitchell Asher representing B.J.B. Properties of Chicago, the residents of Chateau are certain that they will have to leave soon.

Jenny Dwyer, manager of client services at Lakeview Pantry states, "Many of whom I have interacted with from Chateau are minimum wage earners (both full and part time), individuals with disabilities including veterans, trauma and domestic violence survivors and ex-offenders who are trying hard to put their life back together." "These are vulnerable individuals who live quietly and responsibly," she said. See more of Sreya Sankar's write-up of 'Who Lives at Hotel Chateau' here.

To face this difficult situation, Lakeview Pantry held two meetings with the Chateau Hotel residents to answer their housing related legal questions. The first meeting was held on Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 at the East site with Brian Nelson of Uptown People's Law Center. We talked to Chateau residents about their legal rights as tenants. The second meeting was held on Thursday, February 14th, 2013 at the East site, with Noah Moskowitz of Metropolitan Tenants Organization, who made a presentation on the legal rights of tenants in SROs.

Alderman Cappleman addressed the situation in his latest newsletter, stating: "Update on Chateau Hotel. The 46th Ward Office is working closely with the Dept. of Family & Support Services (DFSS) and a number of other social service organizations to locate safe housing for residents of the Chateau Hotel who have been given a 30-day notice."

Lakeview Pantry hopes for the best in this situation, and will continue to work to find solutions for those affected.

As of last year, Lakeview Pantry was given the opportunity to provide hope to clients in a new and unique way: dental services. Board Member Chris Kertesz established a partnership with local dentist Nicolas Amigoni who was able to donate his time to the clients of LVP. Dr. Amigoni is able to help one client each month who has been deeply affected by their dental needs. With Dr. Amigoni's volunteered time, coupled with necessary materials provided by Lakeview Pantry, we are now able to aid those who need assistance in this respect. Our case worker Jenny Dwyer tells the story of one of our clients, Janet (name has been changed), and how she was able to make strides in her situation thanks to the kindness of Dr. Amigoni and our donors:

Janet originally came to LVP with a number of issues. She was looking for work and was in an unhealthy relationship which turned into a domestic violence situation. Janet reported having very low self-esteem due to missing two front teeth after an accident that she was in. Her self-esteem was impacting her ability to make important decisions to improve her life. She reported being treated badly by potential employers due to her missing teeth. Dr. Amigoni was able to provide Janet with an exam and a partial for only $75. LVP paid this fee and Janet was able to get her teeth fixed. She reported being the happiest and most hopeful about her future than she's ever been. Janet was able to make arrangements to flee her domestic violence situation and get a fresh start. She said that she would be much more able to get a job and feel good about moving forward now that she felt confident with her smile!

This month and in 2013 more generally, we hope to be able to provide more solutions like these, which are specific, effective, and often inspiring.