Coalition Uses Collaborative Approach in Developing Community Based Partnership Model
Housing Action Illinois announced its designation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a HUD Approved Housing Counseling Intermediary, serving Illinois and Indiana.
For over 10 years Housing Action has provided valuable training and programmatic assistance to housing counseling agencies. The organization is known for its work and activism to preserve and expand quality affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income households. Becoming a HUD Approved Intermediary is a natural extension of this work, and reflects the unique collaborative approach developed by Housing Action to capacity strengthening which serves as the hallmark for Housing Action’s training program. “We are extremely pleased to have this opportunity to help both our housing counseling partners and individuals and families,” states Sharon Legenza, Executive Director of Housing Action Illinois.
As a HUD Approved Housing Counseling Intermediary, Housing Action will partner with a strong network of community-based nonprofit counseling agencies to leverage resources and improve consumer access to high quality housing counseling services on a local level in Illinois and Indiana. “Communities thrive when families and individuals have a place to call home, said David Young, Housing Action Illinois’ Director of Training. “Housing is a basic necessity and we believe that public policy and government spending should protect those in need. At Housing Action Illinois our supporters, participants and members agree that a stronger Illinois begins at home.”
Housing Action Illinois partner agencies offer housing services in financial management and budget counseling, mortgage delinquency and default counseling, pre-purchase education, one-on-one homeownership counseling, rental information, fair housing guidance, rehabilitation programs, reverse mortgage counseling, homeless prevention support, predatory lending education and foreclosure prevention options. “By providing this type of infrastructure support, Housing Action Illinois will help housing counseling agencies to maximize operational efficiencies and provide more comprehensive housing counseling services to their communities,” stated Sharon Legenza of Housing Action Illinois.
Additionally as a HUD Approved Housing Counseling Intermediary Housing Action can provide critical operational infrastructure support to affiliated agencies in the areas of managing funding, reporting, training, and monitoring for HUD housing counseling upcoming available funds. Housing Action will also provide programmatic assistance to ensure effective and efficient service delivery to low and moderate-income communities in Illinois and Indiana.
Housing Action will be partnering with the Indiana Association of Community Economic Development (IACED) to promote Housing Action’s Intermediary with their housing counseling agency members in Indiana. “Our housing counseling agency members have been interested in working with a local Intermediary for some time,” said Andy Frazier, Executive Director of IACED. “We believe the partnership with Housing Action Illinois will help our members to grow and better serve consumers in Indiana.”
Housing Action will oversee an initial network of 15 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies in Illinois and Indiana. A complete list of these agencies can be found here. Housing Action Illinois will continue to offer training and program assistance to organizations throughout Illinois, whether or not they are members of the Intermediary.
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