Housing Action will distribute subgrants to 35 housing counseling organizations and facilitate national trainings for agencies
For Immediate Release: August 31, 2022
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333
CHICAGO, IL – HUD has awarded a combined $1,387,908 to Housing Action Illinois to support housing counseling agencies through subgrants, program support, and trainings. Housing counselors offer free education for clients buying or renting a home, facing foreclosure or eviction, seeking reverse mortgages, or working to budget, rebuild credit, and attain financial stability.
Housing Action Illinois will distribute subgrants to 35 housing counseling agencies in its Intermediary network, listed below, from its Comprehensive Housing Counseling Program award of $1,147,942. These subgrantees serve communities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri. In addition to providing affiliates with financial support, Housing Action assists the agencies with administrative functions and offers training and one-on-one guidance.
“The Journey Forward is so fortunate to be a Housing Action Illinois subsidiary partnering agency,” stated Annemarie Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of The Journey Forward. “As an emerging nonprofit and housing counseling agency, their guidance and support has enhanced our ability to be successful and meet the needs of our housing counseling clients. The financial support from HUD allows us to do this critical work that addresses our clients’ most critical and basic need—housing. We are very proud to be affiliated with Housing Action Illinois and privileged to do this important work.”
For the second time, Housing Action Illinois will also receive a HUD Training Award. The additional $239,966 will enable Housing Action to provide a robust lineup of trainings to help housing counseling agencies become more effective, expand their programs, and develop staff skills to meet changing needs. Housing counselors must keep up to date on a wide range of topics, such as how to access down payment assistance programs, manage mortgage delinquency, and avoid discriminatory or predatory lending practices.
“These trainings are critical for building a pipeline of new housing counselors to serve in communities in Illinois and across the country,” said David Young, Housing Action’s Director of Capacity Building. “We want to expand our field and bring in a new generation of housing counseling professionals. To achieve this, we need high quality, ongoing educational opportunities to train aspiring counselors in the fundamentals of housing counseling and key topics such as foreclosure prevention.”
In Fiscal Year 2021, Housing Action Illinois’ network of subgrantees helped 11,069 clients. This included assisting 1,150 in purchasing homes, supporting 6,043 in developing a sustainable budget, and connecting 4,251 with resources such as down payment assistance or rental assistance to improve their housing situation.
HUD Housing Counseling Intermediary Affiliates 2022 – 2023
- Access Living – Chicago, IL
- Advantage Housing, Inc. – Kokomo, IN
- Bridging Communities – Detroit, MI
- CEDA – Chicago, IL
- C.E.F.S. – Effingham, IL
- Center for Changing Lives – Chicago, IL
- Central Detroit Christian CDC – Detroit, MI
- Community Investment Corporation (CIC) of Decatur – Decatur, IL
- Community Service Council of Northern Will County – Bolingbrook, IL
- Cornerstone Community Development Corporation– Ford Heights, IL
- Embarras River Basin Agency – Greenup, IL
- Far South Community Development Corporation (formerly Genesis Housing Development Corporation) – Chicago, IL
- Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County – Champaign, IL
- H.O.M.E. DuPage – Wheaton, IL
- HOPE of Evansville – Evansville, IN
- Housing Opportunities – Valparaiso, IN
- Housing Opportunity Development Corporation – Techny, IL
- The Housing Partnership, Inc. – St. Louis, MO
- The Journey Forward – Chicago, IL
- Justine Petersen, Inc. – St. Louis, MO
- Kingdom Community – Chicago, IL
- Lake County Housing Authority – Grayslake, IL
- Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) – Chicago, IL
- Menard County Housing Authority – Petersburg, IL
- METEC – Peoria, IL
- Northside Community Development Corporation – Chicago, IL
- Oak Park Regional Housing Center – Oak Park, IL
- Open Communities – Evanston, IL
- Respond Now – Chicago Heights, IL
- Restoration America – Crystal Lake, IL
- South Suburban Housing Center – Homewood, IL
- Springfield Housing Authority – Springfield, IL
- Total Resource Community Development Corporation – Chicago, IL
- Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Council – Steeleville, IL
- YWCA of Metro Chicago – Chicago, IL
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About Housing Action Illinois
Housing Action Illinois is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to protect and expand the availability of quality, affordable housing in Illinois for 35 years. Our 160+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.