CBS News Chicago Spotlights Ignite’s Impact in the Community

 This summer, as Chicagoans flipped on their local news while tidying their homes, fixing a meal, or settling in to catch up on the city’s latest news, they were met with a peculiar sight.  
 
As unique as a UFO among the Hondas and Fords lining Indiana Ave, viewers were introduced to Ignite’s Mobile Outreach Unit. It’s a startling orange, with notable accents of yellow stretching its twenty-foot frame.  

But, like most things, it’s what’s on the inside that matters most.

Ignite’s New Outreach Mobile Unit hit the streets Summer 2025

Ignite’s Mobile Outreach Unit carries "anything from information on what we can do for them to our safe sex kits to our hygiene packs to our food. We can pass out all those things right here," according to Chineze Mogbo, Ignite’s Director of Outreach and Prevention.  

Wearing a bright-orange tee to match the fluorescent van, Chineze articulated the mission of Ignite with clarity and passion for the camera, setting the stage for Ignite’s feature on CBS News – Chicago.  

As an organization, we’re thankful for the opportunity to be featured on such a large platform, as exposure is often the spark our organization needs to continue being a light in youth’s darkest moments.  

The same rings true for our Mobile Outreach Unit, an unignorable van traversing Chicago's neighborhood in search of young people in need. The idea was born from a clear realization: countless young people face real barriers to our services, from gang lines to transportation challenges. 

President and CEO Stephanie Piccirilli then guided viewers through Belfort House’s milieu, “the heart of [the] building.”  

“We work with [young people] one on one to find out what they need to rebuild their life and move forward so that they can grow into a young adult and thrive,” Piccirilli explained.  

Ignite was founded in 1976, nearly 50 years ago, following Congressional approval of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act which established a framework for community-based programs like ours to serve runaway and unstably housed young people.  

“We were able to be funded through that Act and begin doing street outreach,” Piccirilli continued. Then, “we had our office in the Greyhound Bus Station.”  

Since 1976, our organization has grown to serve over 800 young people annually, in addition to making more than 29,000 contacts with vulnerable youth across Chicago each year.  

One such young person was Saniah, making her major-network debut. Saniah was a participant of Ignite’s Supportive Program Assuring Readiness Knowledge & Skills Career Readiness (S.P.A.R.K.S), a workforce development program here at Ignite, an initiative dedicated to preparing young people for professional opportunities and economic independence.  

"Last summer, when I was working at S.P.A.R.K.S., I was very reserved and I didn't really want to leave my house,” Saniah recalled. “S.P.A.R.K.S. gave me an outlet to go outside every day to talk to people, to learn more about other people, and not just only be inside yourself." 

This Fall, Saniah is an incoming freshman at the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign on a full-ride academic scholarship.  

S.P.A.R.K.S participant's in action at Sterling.

As we look forward to 50 years as an organization, we are deeply grateful to CBS Chicago for platforming Ignite, and to our funders whose support ensures that our work continues, from street outreach to warm, safe beds and a place our young people can call “home.” Our work is not done until every child has a future they can be proud of, and the resilience they need to see it through. 

We hope it won’t take another 50 years, but if that time comes, our door will always be open. 

 By: Olivia Robinson