VISTA to VISTA: Lilly and Kati Talk Life on a Stipend, Netflix, and What’s Next
Back to main blog page » VISTA to VISTA is a recurring feature where our VISTAs interview each other about their perspectives, experiences, and challenges. This March, Lilly (Hesed House) and Kati (Northwest Side Housing Center) talked about why they became...
Life After VISTA: Working at HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing
Fresh out of graduate school and wanting to pursue a totally new career, I had an idea of what I wanted to do professionally, but I just was not sure of the proper steps to achieve my goals. I did not want to rush into a job just for financial gain; I wanted to do...
Measuring the Magnitude of Homelessness
Back to main blog page » Nearly fifty volunteers assembled on Chicago’s West Side to kick off their participation in the 2017 Point-In-Time (PIT) count. I arrived promptly at 8 p.m. with a large cup of coffee and took a seat with three others. Together, we were at...
April VISTA Happenings
Back to main blog page » Events, deadlines, holidays, and other important dates for the VISTA network.
The Power of Storytelling
Back to main blog page » Making my way into the back of a bar off of Damen into a very crowded room, I waited for Story Lab to start. I found out about this storytelling event while researching how to find storytellers for the advocacy program I coordinate called...
Life After VISTA: “My experience as a VISTA continues to serve me well” while working for HUD
Back to main blog page » A passionate fair and affordable housing advocate for years, I became a VISTA for several reasons. My long term goal was to use my past housing programs experience and knowledge of federal grants to gain employment with the Department of...
Housing is a Human Right: Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing
Housing instability is not merely a symptom of poverty; as illustrated by Matthew Desmond’s 2016 book Evicted, it is a cause. Over 60% of Chicago’s housing stock is rental units, and in 2016 there were upwards of 25,000 evictions filed in the city. The unstable nature...
Project Spotlight: How can you make your event or meeting accessible and inclusive?
Back to main blog page » As part of her work as a VISTA with Access Living, Tierra Finley developed a checklist to help event and meeting organizers ensure that their gathering is accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. Check out the...
March VISTA Happenings
Back to main blog page » Events, deadlines, holidays, and other important dates for the VISTA network.
VISTA to VISTA: Nicole and Phillip Talk St. Louis, Strategic Planning, and War and Peace
Back to main blog page » VISTA to VISTA is a recurring feature where our VISTAs interview each other about their perspectives, experiences, and challenges. This February, Nicole Maldonado (Heartland Alliance) asked Phillip Moore (Claretian Associates) about...
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.