CHICAGO — At the end of the CTA Blue Line, a refuge of sorts has taken shape for homeless riders with few other places to go.
Once a week, late at night, service providers at folding tables set up on the first floor of the Forest Park station help those sleeping on trains apply for ID cards and provide basic medical care. For riders like Michelle Mitchell, it’s a chance to pick up food and socks and get help finding a more accessible brand of her prescribed medication.
The Forest Park station services are one of several supports Mitchell has discovered in the year since she began staying on the train. She’s learned to travel with a trusted group for protection from those looking to steal from her or harass her. And she’s learned morning rush hour is the best time to sleep because overnight she has been prevented from riding continuously from one end of the Blue Line to the other, meaning she has to get up and switch trains.
