Community Partner Spotlight: Sarah’s Circle
Sarah's Circle
Kathy Ragnar
Executive Director, Sarah’s Circle
About this Partner
Mission
Sarah’s Circle provides a full continuum of services for women, including housing, life necessities, and supportive services to help them permanently end their homelessness.
Executive Director
Kathy Ragnar has been the Executive Director of Sarah’s Circle since 2006. In her 24 years leading the organization, she has helped it to grow to serve and house more women. Prior to her work with Sarah’s Circle, Ms. Ragnar served as the Executive Director of Infant Welfare in Evanston, where she expanded programming for women and children residing in shelters. Ms. Ragnar started her career with the Northern Trust and then moved to Price Waterhouse as a manager in their consulting group. Ms. Ragnar received her B.S. in Economics and M.B.A. in Finance and Economics from DePaul University.
Services Offered
Sarah’s Circle has been helping women experiencing homelessness in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood since 1979. Over the past 45 years the organization has grown from a volunteer-run drop-in program to a comprehensive social service agency with a Daytime Support Center, Interim Housing Program (50 bed shelter), Rapid Rehousing Program, and a Permanent Supportive Housing Program (76 apartments in agency owned buildings in Uptown and 105 in scattered-site apartments across the city).
Current Projects
Sarah’s Circle is focused on operating our four core programs and developing more housing to meet the needs of the women we serve. In late 2024, we finished a new building that houses twenty-eight women. We are now working on our next building. We anticipate that this will be a long-term effort, as developing a new supportive housing project takes many years.
Organizational Impact to the Community
Last year, we helped over 700 women with our programs. One hundred eighty-one women moved into permanent housing. Four hundred-thirty-four of them received case management. We served over 61,950 meals in the Daytime Support Center and Interim Housing Program.
Funding Sources
Individual donors, private foundations, businesses/corporations, religious organizations, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO), Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Chicago, and the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund (LIHTF).
About this Spotlight
