There’s a surge in calls for shelter. Chicago’s 311 help line can’t keep up. – WBEZ (Chicago)

the number of shelter requests the city receives through its 311 hotline has more than doubled since before the pandemic — a spike that has been driven by what housing advocates say is a rise in street homelessness amid the aftershocks of COVID and a swelling migrant crisis. And while demand is up, the supply of available beds dropped during the pandemic, and city officials acknowledge those numbers have yet to rebound. And funding for the shelter system has remained relatively flat over the past four years.