Gathering Data to End Homelessness
Each year, every Continuum of Care must conduct a Point-in-Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness in their service area. Volunteers spend one night in January walking around and recording the number of people without shelter. PIT count data is reported...
A Holiday of Giving at Heartland Alliance
Back to main blog page » Stephanie Tena is an AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer Coordinator at Heartland Alliance. The holiday season ignites a sense of reflection, graciousness, and a call to give back to others. One of the ways to channel this altruism is to...
Fall Into Our VISTA Network!
The seasons are changing almost as fast as our VISTA network! We're excited to welcome 26 new VISTAs as they start a year of service increasing the capacity of our member organizations to educate the public and community stakeholders on housing issues and...
VISTA to VISTA: Navigating Your Service Year with Abby & Cameron
Back to main blog page » VISTA to VISTA is a recurring feature where our VISTAs interview each other about their perspectives, experiences, and challenges. Abby Ratner and Cameron Kritikos have the unique experience of serving together as AmeriCorps...
9/11: A Day of Service and Remembrance
Back to main blog page » Since September 11, 2001, millions of Americans have come together with a common purpose to honor 9/11 and commemorate the tragedy through a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Each year, AmeriCorps VISTA members support this...
A Passion to End Homelessness
Back to main blog page » Republished from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless blog. Veronica Cullinan-Burnison is an AmeriCorps VISTA Organizer for Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH). I am no stranger to the issues that many of the people we work...
On The Table: Tools to Create Affordable, Resilient, and Sustainable Neighborhoods
Back to main blog page » Each year, The Chicago Community Trust invites partners to join them in hosting On The Table, an annual forum designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships and inspire collaborative action across the region. In...
VISTA Spotlight: Sonia at Hesed House
Back to main blog page » When Sonia started her Summer Associate position with Hesed House, donated clothing was jumbled all together, making it difficult to quickly accommodate the needs of children and families. This summer, she tackled the disorganized...
A Summer with Hesed House
Back to main blog page » This August, we headed to Aurora to visit Hesed House, a comprehensive homeless resource center where five VISTA Summer Associates have spent the last couple of months working on a wide variety of projects. They’ve been running a...
Time Flies When You’re Having Fun
Back to main blog page » The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” is a good way to summarize the many adventures I’ve had at Housing Action Illinois. I moved to Chicago for the polluted air and loud streets, never one to miss out on the city life,...
The Illinois Affordable Housing Support Project
Housing Action Illinois manages a network of nearly 30 AmeriCorps VISTAs placed with our member organizations. AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty, and our VISTA members commit to serve our communities full-time for a year. They fill a wide variety of roles, but all are aimed at fighting poverty and helping communities by expanding and improving the availability of decent, affordable, accessible housing in Illinois.