Lincoln Park Community Shelter Announces New Executive Director/ Dan Hula to Join Staff on December 15, 2014

Lincoln Park Community Shelter Announces New Executive Director/ Dan Hula to Join Staff on December 15, 2014 1 Dan Hula begins as Executive Director of Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS), as announced on November 24, 2014, by Board President Brent Carstensen. Hula brings an impressive track record of working with individuals experiencing homelessness, poverty, and hunger to the organization. He joins the staff on December 15.

Dan HulaDan Hula begins as Executive Director of Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS), as announced on November 24, 2014, by Board President Brent Carstensen. Hula brings an impressive track record of working with individuals experiencing homelessness, poverty, and hunger to the organization. He joins the staff on December 15.

“Dan Hula was the unanimous choice by our board of directors,” said Carstensen. “His passion for providing long term, transformative support to individuals experiencing homelessness is clear. Dan understands the importance of continually striving towards solutions for alleviating social problems, rather than providing temporary relief.  His ability to turn vision into operational reality will greatly benefit the Lincoln Park Community Shelter as we evolve and grow in the years ahead.”

“It is a great honor to be chosen as the next Executive Director of Lincoln Park Community Shelter,” Hula said. “It feels a bit like returning home, as some of my first exposure to working with individuals experiencing homelessness was from my ten months as a program intern at LPCS while I was earning my Master’s degree in Social Work at DePaul. Much of my passion for the cause and philosophy of empowering those in need and meeting individuals wherever they are at stems from my experience at LPCS.”

ABOUT LINCOLN PARK COMMUNITY SHELTER (LPCS)

The Lincoln Park Community Shelter (LPCS) is a comprehensive social service agency serving adult men and women who are experiencing homelessness. Located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, LPCS has been providing shelter and other basic needs to our homeless neighbors since 1985. Today, LPCS provides interim housing, meals, and a targeted array of social services to over 400 people each year.

ABOUT DAN HULA

Dan Hula is a nonprofit professional who has spent his entire career working for social service organizations that focus on hunger, homelessness, and poverty.  Most recently, he served as Director of the Chicago Lights Elam Davies Social Service Center (EDSSC), an agency focused on supporting persons on their journey toward greater stability and self-sufficiency, through services such as case management, a food pantry, clothing assistance, housing assistance, computer classes, job readiness training, street outreach, and support groups.

When he became Director at EDSSC, Hula inherited a program with a thirty-year history of providing relief services to individuals experiencing homelessness. During his tenure, he led a strategic transformation of the agency from a focus on emergency food and clothing assistance to a long-term, case management based model. He developed and maintained relationships with key partner agencies, such as the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Inspiration Corporation. He also developed and implemented a partnership with the Northwestern Fienberg School of Medicine to provide resources and outreach to homeless individuals on the near north side of Chicago.

Hula holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology-Juvenile Justice from DePaul University. While earning his Master’s degree, he spent ten months as a program intern at the Lincoln Park Community Shelter, where he gained experience as a co-leader of the Community Engagement Program (CEP), assisted in writing grant proposals, and taught daily life skills classes for guests.