Homeless Service Provider Updates | Housing Action Illinois

Housing Advocates Urge HUD to Avoid Forcing Thousands of Illinoisans into Homelessness

Kristin Ginger — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 17:00:06 +0000

In a letter to Secretary Scott Turner, advocates outline importance of maintaining funding for housing programs

For Immediate Release: November 14, 2025
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Director of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois (kristin@housingactionil.org) and Emily Moen, Chief Communications Officer Director, Thresholds (emily.moen@thresholds.org)

CHICAGO, Ill. — Yesterday, nearly 300 groups from across Illinois sent a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner urging the Department to renew existing grants in order to prevent a harmful gap in funding of housing and services for people who have experienced homelessness. Signatories include a diverse cross-section of stakeholders comprised of housing providers and advocates, health and disability rights groups as well as faith-based organizations and others.

The letter, led by Thresholds and Housing Action Illinois, responds to reports that HUD would issue a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Continuum of Care (CoC) awards — instead of renewing existing grants for another year. The NOFO for fiscal year 2025 was not released until the evening of November 13, even though the fiscal year ended on September 30. The deadline to apply is January 14, 2026.

Existing awards have various end dates in 2026. Some will begin to expire as soon as the end of January next year, creating a funding gap that will threaten the ability of agencies to continue providing housing and services.

Based on the 2024 HUD Point in Time Count, on any given night, nearly 26,000 Illinoisans are experiencing homelessness. This includes more than 7,200 children, over 2,800 survivors of domestic violence, nearly 700 seniors, and more than 550 veterans. Because of the lack of affordable housing — the root cause of homelessness — even more people are doubled up or otherwise do not have a home of their own.

“Existing federal grants start to expire early in 2026. At this late date, there is no way the federal government can undertake a brand-new funding competition without causing a monthslong gap between the end of many existing awards and the beginning of new funding,” said Bob Palmer, Policy Director for Housing Action Illinois.

For several weeks, there have been reports that the NOFO would be a vehicle for fast-tracking a dramatic restructuring of the program, including a 30% cap on the funds that can be used for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and other permanent housing, which is in the released NOFO. Currently, more than 80% of federal CoC funding in Illinois is used for these purposes—an evidence-backed, market-based approach to ending homelessness that also generates economic activity in the form of rent to property owners and on-site services.

“Rather than making drastic changes to the CoC program with no input from stakeholders or Congress, we urge HUD to renew existing grants for one more year as authorized by Congress to prevent a devastating gap. This will keep our community members safely, stably housed, and avoid pushing them back into homelessness,” said Mark Ishaug, President and CEO of Thresholds, one of the state’s largest providers of permanent supportive housing.

The CoC Program has longstanding bipartisan support. Illinois’ 19 CoC networks provide the foundation for local efforts to prevent and end homelessness, currently supporting more than 21,400 people maintaining permanent housing across the state, as well as more than 27,000 emergency and transitional beds. Across Illinois, federal CoC funding currently supports more than 330 CoC grants, totaling approximately $182.5 million, to nonprofit and local government agencies.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that 60% of all permanent supportive housing in Illinois is federally funded, although in many downstate and rural communities, the percentage is much higher.

###

About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action Illinois has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for nearly 40 years. With our 200+ member organizations, we bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

About Thresholds

Founded in 1959, Thresholds provides healthcare, housing, and hope for thousands of persons with mental illnesses and substance use conditions in Illinois each year. Through care, employment, advocacy, and housing, Thresholds assists and inspires people with mental illnesses to reclaim their lives. Learn more about Thresholds at thresholds.org.

Join Our Email List

Housing Action Illinois
67 E. Madison Street, Suite 1603
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 939-6074 • info@housingactionil.org

Privacy Policy

Illinois Must Keep Increasing Investments to End Homelessness

Kristin Ginger — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:50:52 +0000

After two years of significant budget increases, the proposed FY26 budget reduces existing funding

For immediate release: February 19, 2025
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

This statement is on behalf of Housing Action Illinois and the Illinois Shelter Alliance.

Governor Pritzker’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, announced today, includes $282.7 million for the HOME Illinois line item, a 2.6% percent reduction compared to the current year funding of $290.3 million.

The proposal also allocates $72.4 million in additional funding for these programs: Emergency and Transitional Housing, Homelessness Prevention, Homeless Youth, and Supportive Housing. These are flat-funded compared to the current year budget. The HOME Illinois line item provides additional funding for the programs listed above, as well as many other programs, such as court-based rent assistance, shelter diversion, and rapid rehousing.

Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly have made significant new investments over the last two years to support the HOME Illinois plan, which reversed a long history of state budgets with no or only very minimal budget increases from year to year.

Unfortunately, the proposed FY26 budget does not build on that progress; instead, it has a decrease. We understand the State of Illinois’ budget challenges and we appreciate efforts by the governor’s office and state agencies to use existing resources as effectively as possible by increasing some specific uses for HOME Illinois while decreasing others.

However, it is critical to continue increasing overall funding each year, particularly for emergency shelters, which serve people with absolutely no place else to go. It will take many years of consistent, significant investments to meet the plan’s goals of reaching functional zero homelessness, where instances of people not having a home are rare and brief.

All HOME Illinois programs, including funds that go to homeless shelters, rely on a strong network of nonprofit agencies around the state to implement the programs working with people in crisis. In addition to the benefits to the families and individuals being served, these agencies provide jobs and contribute to Illinois’ economy.

The State’s two-year HOME Illinois plan, released near the end of 2024, estimated a shelter bed deficit of 5,379 beds statewide, based on 10,044 being available. There is also a deficit of 10,972 permanent supportive housing units and other rental housing necessary to end homelessness.

Based on the shortage of shelter beds, more than 5,000 people at a time—many of them children—will continue to struggle for daily survival. As the Illinois Shelter Alliance and 250+ organizational partners stated in our December 23 letter to Governor Pritzker requesting a $100 million budget increase for HOME Illinois, including $40 million for shelter: every shelter bed that does not exist represents a person, often a child, who has literally no place to call home.

The lack of emergency shelter often forces people to live outside, in a car and/or a place where their physical safety and life is at risk. For the most vulnerable, including people who are victims of domestic violence and people with mental illness, having access to emergency shelter makes the difference between life and death.

Last year, the Illinois Department of Public Health completed a five-year Homeless Morbidity and Mortality Report. Based on the findings, the average life expectancy for someone experiencing homelessness is nearly 20 years less than someone not experiencing homelessness. In addition, people experiencing homelessness had $16 billion in emergency medical costs over five years.

We support the Governor’s focus on fiscal responsibility. However, under-funding shelter and housing is shortsighted and ultimately results in higher healthcare spending.

We urge the Governor and legislature to address this imbalance by funding additional shelter and affordable rental housing, including permanent supportive housing, in the final fiscal year 2026 budget.

The vast majority of the state budget supports basic human needs, like K-12 public education, and the proposed state budget rightly included funding increases for certain high priorities. We also ask Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly to ensure that the State of Illinois also has adequate revenue to keep making progress towards meeting all our high priorities, including making sure everyone has access to shelter if they need it, as well as an affordable place to call home.

###

About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to end homelessness, address the shortage of affordable rental housing, and expand homeownership opportunities in Illinois for more than 35 years. Our 180+ 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.

About Illinois Shelter Alliance

The Illinois Shelter Alliance, formed in 2022, is a coalition of 68 emergency shelter and transitional housing agencies, as well as their allies, who believe housing and shelter are human rights. We are working together to ensure that our communities meet this basic human need for everyone. For more information, please contact: Doug Kenshol, Co-Founder of the Illinois Shelter Alliance and Executive Director of South Suburban PADS, at dkenshol@sspads.org or 708-704-0143 (cell).

2020 Silver Linings

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 21:35:31 +0000

Silver Linings in 2020

2020 has been a difficult year—marked by the COVID-19 public health crisis, related economic downturn, and widespread social unrest in response to systemic racism. A heartbreaking number of people are facing housing insecurity at a time when it is clearer than ever that housing is healthcare, and we are facing challenges both new and old as we head into the new year.

As we work to meet these challenges and build a better future for everyone, we are taking a moment to reflect and honor the resilience of individuals and communities throughout Illinois. We are inspired by the ways in which Illinoisans have come together to meet urgent needs, and we are grateful to our members and partners for your hard work in the midst of constant change and uncertainty.

We want to share the bright spots that have carried us through the past 12 months, and we invite you to join us in finding silver linings from 2020.

Homeless service providers throughout Illinois met critical needs with nearly half a million dollars in COVID-19 relief subgrants provided by Housing Action.

Housing Action subgranted $485,000 to 30 homeless service providers across Illinois, thanks to funding we received from the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Together, the subgrantees served 3,515 individuals—including more than 790 children, 830 individuals with healthcare needs, and 1,060 people experiencing wage loss—and provided a total of 78,000 nights of shelter, 130,000 meals, and 23,000 pieces of personal protective equipment. In addition, 300 households received short-term rent and mortgage assistance, and 160 received utility assistance.

Learn more about our subgrantees’ work »

Homeless service providers from across Illinois met the urgent needs of people facing housing instability during the pandemic.

We successfully advocated for significant federal COVID-19 housing-related relief—and for Illinois to prioritize this funding for people and communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Federal Funding

We advocated alongside the National Low Income Housing Coalition for more than $12 billion in funding for HUD, which was included in the federal CARES Act passed by Congress in March. Illinois communities were allocated $332.6 million of the funding for three HUD programs:

$118.6 million through the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)
$212.1 million through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
$1.8 million through Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)

These funds are being used to serve the basic human needs of people experiencing homelessness, renters, homeowners, and others impacted by the pandemic.

State Funding

The final FY2021 Illinois state budget includes $310 million in COVID-19–related rent and mortgage assistance—the largest commitment of federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars from the CARES Act for housing assistance by any state, and a critical win for Housing Action and the state of Illinois. Of this, at least $100 million was designated to meet the needs of people in the areas most impacted by COVID-19, which are disproportionately communities of color. In total, by the end of 2020, these funds will assist 42,000 renter households in maintaining their homes through a commitment of $210 million in funding. In addition, thanks to $100 million in grant funding, 10,000 homeowners will avoid foreclosure.

New Homebuyer Assistance Programs

On December 1, our 2019 advocacy efforts continued to pay off with significant returns when Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) announced the commitment of $60 million in state capital budget funds to create two new homebuyer assistance programs. These programs will help Illinoisans overcome barriers to homeownership, with a focus on serving disinvested communities and people of color.

Opening Doors, or Abriendo Puertas, is designed to provide a safe and affordable lending program that allows families across Illinois to achieve a path to homeownership and asset building. The SmartBuy program will increase home purchase accessibility for low- to moderate-income borrowers across Illinois affected by increasing student loan debt. Combined, the two programs will assist 6,500 to 7,000 households.

The committed funding is a portion of the $200 million in capital budget funding we and our partners successfully advocated for in 2019. The remainder of funding will be committed over the next few years, with an estimated equal split in funding to benefit both renters and homeowners.

in funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

in funding allocated to Illinois for HUD programs

for COVID-19–related rent and mortgage assistance in the Illinois state budget

for two new homebuyer assistance programs in Illinois

We received $1.3 million in HUD funding to distribute to housing counseling agencies.

As a Housing Counseling Intermediary, Housing Action secures funding from HUD and passes it through to our affiliated housing counseling agencies that provide direct services to renters and homeowners in need. We also help our affiliates with administrative functions, and assist each agency to ensure it meets program standards and client needs.

This year, we were allocated $1.3 million in funding from HUD—the highest award we’ve received to date. With our support, our 32 affiliated housing counseling agencies are able to be more efficient, provide more comprehensive services, help more people, and create more change in their communities.

During FY20, our affiliates helped 10,074 households understand their housing options, 3,370 households improve their housing situation, 910 households purchase their first home, and 340 households avoid eviction.

We pivoted our trainings to focus on equipping housing counselors with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively serve clients while working remotely.

Our trainings, workshops, and webinars are designed to meet the unique needs of housing organizations and help housing counselors and other nonprofit housing professionals build their skills and knowledge.

When counselors began working from home during the pandemic, we offered A Primer on Virtual Housing Counseling. This overwhelmingly popular training reached its 150-person capacity within 90 minutes of registration opening, so we organized a second session to meet the demand. We also shifted our place-based Fundamentals of Rental Counseling training to a virtual format to help counselors respond to the large increase in renters seeking their services due the pandemic.

To help counselors keep up with continually changing rules and regulations regarding evictions and foreclosure as the COVID-19 pandemic developed—and to prepare counselors for evolving needs as the situation continues—we facilitated trainings with legal experts and veterans of the 2008 foreclosure crisis.

Meanwhile, our Online Study Group continues to help housing counselors prepare to pass the individual certification exam and become HUD certified. More than 1,000 counselors from across the nation have participated in the study group since its launch in 2018.

Housing Action Illinois’ Bibian Cristino & Chicago Community Loan Fund’s Taft West look at the Fundamentals of Rental Housing Counseling coursebook.

We helped community-based organizations build relationships with financial institutions to increase access to affordable housing.

Through the Community Revitalization Challenge, we help community-based organizations build capacity, working with them to develop robust proposals for projects that increase access to affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout Illinois.

We launched the second round of the Community Revitalization Challenge, CRC 2.0, in January. Fourteen organizations submitted project ideas, and eight were selected to develop their ideas into fully-fledged proposals.

In November, six organizations presented their proposals to seven financial institutions during our virtual CRC 2.0 Project Showcase.

Our AmeriCorps members continued to shine.

AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty.

In 2020, 24 full-year AmeriCorps members and 21 Summer AmeriCorps members served at organizations across the state through Housing Action Illinois’ national service program. While they all felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their terms of service—whether suddenly having to learn how to do a role remotely, pivoting work goals towards relief efforts, or getting to know their coworkers over Zoom—our AmeriCorps members rose to the occasion and made the most of it. They worked on projects ranging from creating virtual infrastructure for organizations to collecting data to illustrate statewide housing inaccessibility.

Altogether, our AmeriCorps Members helped bring in $507,000 in cash and in-kind donations and recruited or managed more than 2,100 volunteers.

We took the Housing Matters! Conference virtual—and national.

Although we weren’t able to come together in person for this year’s conference, we found new ways to connect. We partnered with the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations to take the Housing Matters! conference virtual and national as part of the Strengthening Resilient Communities forum.

245 housing practitioners from 141 different organizations registered to attend Illinois sessions and national plenaries with powerful speakers, including author Ibram X. Kendi, architect Deanna Van Buren, U.S. Representatives Chuy Garcia and Robin Kelly, and State Representative Delia Ramirez.

A particular bright spot for Housing action was the chance to create and share a video featuring housing advocates from across the state speaking about what they are most proud of in their communities. We shared this during our Housing Matters! kick-off session.

We reached out to diverse communities to make sure all Illinoisans were counted in the 2020 Census.

As a part of the non-partisan Get Out the Count initiative, Housing Action worked to ensure that historically hard-to-count communities in Cook County were counted in the 2020 Census. Our outreach focused on racial and ethnic minority populations, renters, people experiencing homelessness, and low-income populations through a variety of means—ranging from Polish- and Spanish-language radio and newspaper ads, letters to the editor, and bus ads, to custom-printed Census masks and trail mix.

We partnered with the Chicago Neighborhood Family Portrait Project—an initiative started by photographer William Estrada to engage with and document people in their own communities, providing portraits to families who might not have them taken otherwise—at questionnaire assistance events in Cicero. These events provided a space for people to understand the 2020 Census and its importance for historically underrepresented communities, and to get a beautiful portrait taken.

The Just Housing Initiative took effect, and we began working to help people understand their new rights.

In 2019, after a campaign co-led by Housing Action, the Just Housing Amendment passed, creating protections against housing discrimination for people with arrest and conviction records in Cook County. In 2020, with the amendment in effect—giving more than one million people a fair chance at finding housing—we began working to help applicants understand their rights and to inform landlords about the new protections.

Gianna Baker, Just Housing Initiative leader, at a press conference urging Cook County Commissioners to pass the measure.

Our members, donors, and funders joined us in working toward an Illinois where everyone has a good, affordable place to call home.

This year, we welcomed twenty-seven new member organizations, making our coalition of more than 135 organizations even stronger. And, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we raised a total of $6,993 in individual contributions at our first-ever online benefit—exceeding our $6,000 goal.

We are always grateful for all of our supporters, both new and returning. Your support means a lot to us and strengthens our efforts to make sure everyone has a good, affordable place to call home.

We kept affordable housing in the headlines—and we shared data and stories to build momentum for change.

We want people to care about and understand affordable housing. This means changing the way we talk about it—and making sure people are talking about it. The more people pay attention to housing issues, the more they understand and the more momentum we build for meaningful change.

In 2020, we focused on shaping media narratives, especially in response to the pandemic. Between talking with reporters and writing our own articles, Housing Action ended up securing more than 50 media placements. We also created messaging guidance for our member organizations on talking about housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the beginning of the year, we co-published A Place to Call Home, a collection of stories by people who have experienced homelessness that grew out of our 2019 Storytelling for Change workshop series with the Supportive Housing Providers Association. In the spring, we co-released the National Low Income Housing Coalition report Out of Reach 2020 in Illinois. The report finds that in order to afford the average modest apartment in Illinois, a worker must earn $21.30 per hour—more than twice our state minimum wage. The report highlights the barriers many families face in complying with stay-at-home orders and advisories while dealing with the financial impacts of COVID-19.

Throughout 2020, we have continued to spotlight the work of our member organizations, projects, housing counselors, AmeriCorps members, and staff on our Latest Updates page.

A Shift in Understanding

While COVID-19 has impacted every Illinoisan in a multitude of ways, not everyone has been affected equally. The pandemic has unmasked and exacerbated the deep disinvestment in communities of color and the ways in which historical injustices and residential segregation continue to affect our everyday lives. During the course of the year, public health experts have consistently urged us to stay home, but not everyone has a home—or has a safe, stable home.

Many Americans have a new, deeper understanding of just how important a stable home is to both individual and collective well-being. This provides an opportunity for housing and homeless advocates to solidify an understanding of housing as healthcare, forge new alliances, and take steps toward long-term solutions.

As we respond, recover, and rebuild after this public health crisis, we need to expand housing opportunities in a sustainable way, not just create band-aid fixes. This is both necessary and within our reach; we can create new standards and develop better systems to ensure that everyone has a place to call home.

Help us build that brighter future.

Contribute to our mission to create an Illinois where everyone has a good, affordable place to call home.

Donate

Housing Action Illinois Awards $145,000 to Homeless Service Providers Throughout State

Kristin Ginger — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 14:00:00 +0000

As pandemic continues, 14 homeless service providers throughout Illinois receive funds for emergency programs that support people who are homeless or face housing instability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30, 2020
CONTACT: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO – Housing Action Illinois is regranting $145,000 to partner organizations throughout the state working to meet the immediate, COVID-19-related needs of people who are homeless or who may become homeless.

“A home is the best protection against COVID-19,” stated Bob Palmer, Policy Director at Housing Action Illinois. “During the first months of the pandemic, many providers worked tirelessly to adapt their programs and move clients from shelters into hotels. Now we’re figuring out what comes next. These funds will be used to address immediate needs at shelters, connect unhoused Illinoisans with homes of their own, and prevent eviction or homelessness for families on the brink.”

During the pandemic, homeless service providers have been contending with heightened need for shelter and services, which is only expected to increase in the coming months. Organizations must balance the increased demand for services while also working to comply with shifting public health guidelines, which place strain on resources.

The funds that Housing Action Illinois is regranting to support these providers are available thanks to the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund (ICRF), which was established by the United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations in collaboration with the Office of the Governor. This is the second round of relief funding from Housing Action Illinois; in May, the statewide coalition subgranted $340,000 to service providers to help Illinois residents remain in stable home or access housing.

Relief funds allowed recipients to distribute emergency rental and mortgage assistance and utility assistance, move shelter guests to hotels to prevent virus transmission, extend emergency shelter hours, and move clients into permanent housing, among other activities.

One partner organization—Madison County Urban League—was able to provide those in need with up to $200 in utility assistance. They also distributed rental assistance in a bid to prevent evictions due to nonpayment once the state’s eviction moratorium ends. The organization serves an area of the state that was hard hit by the pandemic.

“During this unbelievable health crisis we are all facing, this grant is giving us an amazing opportunity to help so many,” said Brenda Walker McCain, President & CEO of Madison County Urban League. “We have been able to help clients maintain their shelter and provide utility assistance when it was most needed in their lives. It is humbling to see the looks of relief on the faces of those we serve.”

Madison County Urban League is among the 14 organizations throughout Illinois that will continue to receive support from Housing Action Illinois in the second of funding this July. Awards range from $10,000 to $15,000.

Relief Funding Recipients:

Carbondale Warming Center, Carbondale
Call for Help, East St. Louis
Catholic Urban Programs, East St. Louis
Courage Connection, Champaign
Dove, Inc., Decatur
The Haven (formerly Mattoon Area P.A.D.S.), Mattoon
Helping Hands of Springfield, Springfield
Hope Haven, DeKalb
Freeport Area Church Cooperative, Freeport
Lazarus House, St. Charles
Madison County Urban League, Alton
MorningStar Mission, Joliet
PADS of Elgin, Elgin
Shelter Care Ministries, Rockford

###

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 more than 30 years. Our 160+ member organizations include homeless service providers, housing counseling agencies, 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.

Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds for Housing Flowing to Illinois

Kristin Ginger — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:52:57 +0000

In March, Congress passed the CARES Act, a $2 trillion direct spending bill to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which provided $12 billion in housing and community development resources. To date, Illinois communities have been allocated $258 million for three HUD programs funded through the CARES Act:

Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA)

ESG funds from the CARES Act will assist sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness, as well as very low-income households (earning less than 50% of Area Median Income) who are at risk of homelessness. The funds can also be used for eviction prevention assistance, including rapid rehousing, housing counseling, and rental deposit assistance.

In early April, HUD announced the first CARES Act allocations. In Illinois, the total received by state and local governments based on HUD’s formula was:

ESG: $49,474,916
CDBG: $98,357,793
HOPWA: $1,822,667

On June 9, HUD posted the amounts for the second and final allocation of funding for the ESG from the CARES Act. Overall, state and local governments in Illinois are receiving $69.2 million in ESG funding from this allocation, including $30.5 million for the City of Chicago and $24.7 million for the State of Illinois.

HOPWA funds will be used for rental assistance and other services necessary to meet the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

CDBG funds are used for housing and community development activities that primarily benefit low- to moderate-income residents. Local recipients of CDBG funds can decide to spend a portion of their CARES Act allocation on housing. Additional CDBG funds have yet to be allocated—$2 billion of the $5 million total appropriated in the CARES Act.

Many communities have posted plans for how they plan to spend their first allocation of CDBG, ESG, and HOPWA funds, which were made shortly after the CARES Act passed.

We are pleased that many Illinois communities are using a portion of their CDBG funds to support programs creating affordable housing and ending homelessness. These communities include Aurora, Chicago, Bloomington, Evanston, Normal, Rock Island, Springfield, Urbana, Waukegan, Lake County, McHenry County, and Will County.

The most common types of CDBG spending on housing are rental and utility assistance, as well as support for homeless service providers. Other types of assistance include mortgage assistance, legal services, and housing counseling.

This and other CARES Act funding will help many people maintain and secure homes during the public health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

However, it’s only a start. That’s why we are calling on the United States Senate to take action in the next COVID-19 response package, the HEROES Act. The $3 trillion bill proposes almost $200 billion in additional funding for housing and homelessness programs to help communities respond to the coronavirus crisis. This bill passed the House in May, but the Senate has yet to take it up. It’s crucial that this bill passes in July, before the expiration of expanded unemployment benefits.

Housing Action Illinois Announces 30 Grantees; Local Media Outlets Spotlight Recipients

admin — Fri, 08 May 2020 16:52:00 +0000

Learn more about how Illinois homeless service providers are adapting and serving during COVID-19 »

In the hopes of shedding light on the challenges currently being faced by Illinoisans experiencing homelessness or housing instability, as well as the organizations serving them, Housing Action Illinois issued a press release announcing thirty subgrant recipients (twenty-five supported by the Illinois COVID-19 Relief Fund and five through the National Low Income Housing Coalition) and reached out to local papers covering the recipients’ communities. Four media outlets picked up the story and ran coverage that spotlighted the work of local organizations: ERBA, Helping Hands of Springfield, Carbondale Warming Center, and Shelter Care Ministries.

Illinois Newsroom ran a longer article on the challenges that homeless service providers are facing. Reporter Lee Gaines interviewed Housing Action Illinois Policy Director Bob Palmer, who discussed the critical need for emergency relief funding for people facing housing instability, as well as the important of policies that support low-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.

Gaines also spoke with Erica Smith, Executive Director of Helping Hands of Springfield, who said, “So what I would hope there would be is a new realization… that any of us with the perfect storm of problems, particularly when you lay a COVID-19 on top of it, could end up homeless. Sometimes I think when we talk about changing major systems, it feels impossible. Oh, we’ll never change that. But this shows us that those systems can change in a day, and that sometimes they have to change.”

Read press coverage on the grantees:

ERBA receives grant for homeless during COVID-19 (Effingham Daily News, 5/4/20)

Illinois Provides Grants To Homeless Service Providers, Agencies Say More Is Still Needed (Illinois Newsroom, 5/5/20)

Carbondale Warming Center receives $10,000 grant to continue serving homeless population (The Southern Illinoisan, 5/5/20)

Shelter Care Ministries receives grant for homelessness (WREX, 5/5/20)

Housing Action Illinois Awards $340,000 to Homeless Service Providers Throughout State

Kristin Ginger — Mon, 04 May 2020 14:00:23 +0000

30 homeless service providers throughout Illinois receive funds to support people who are homeless or unstably housed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 4, 2020
CONTACT: Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO – Housing Action Illinois has regranted $340,000 to partner organizations throughout the state working to meet the immediate COVID-19-related needs of people who are homeless or who may become homeless.

People experiencing homelessness are at extreme risk for COVID-19, living in crowded conditions or other unsheltered congregate settings where they are unable to isolate, quarantine or recover. During this crisis, homeless service providers have had to balance providing much-needed shelter and services to even more people in need while also ensuring that public health guidelines are being met, which requires more resources to do.

“Homeless service providers throughout Illinois have been critically active during the COVID-19 crisis, introducing social distancing measures in shelters, working to move people off the streets and into hotels or motels, and screening individuals with symptoms,” stated Sharon Legenza, Housing Action Illinois’ Executive Director. “With these relief funds, housing agencies across the state will be able to help more Illinoisans obtain or stay in stable homes—which protects the health and safety of our entire state.”

One of the subgrant recipients is the Carbondale Warming Center in southern Illinois, which decided in late March to extend its hours and offer shelter 24/7 in response to the pandemic and the stay-at-home order. This greatly increased the center’s costs, as well as the need to introduce new health and safety measures such as checking temperatures, creating a new layout, and introducing an isolation safe space. “The funding from this grant allows us to continue the services to support our guests, who are often overlooked in our communities,” said Carmalita Cahill, Carbondale Warming Center Coordinator. “Our mission is to provide a safe, warm place to sleep at night while serving with humanity, dignity and empathy at the forefront. We are grateful for the funding that allows us to continue.”

Another recipient, Helping Hands of Springfield, has closed its daytime lobby and shifted into a 24-hour shelter-in-place approach to operations. The organization has been innovative in supporting clients—for example, thanks to a recent donation of four iPads, clients can now have tele-health “virtual visits” with their usual healthcare providers—but has also faced many challenges and is eager to connect clients with longer term housing. “With this grant money, Helping Hands of Springfield will permanently house several members of our community who are currently in emergency shelter and unsheltered,” stated Erica Smith, Executive Director at Helping Hands. “This will be an invaluable resource for keeping people safe and healthy, particularly during a time of pandemic.”

The majority of the funds that Housing Action Illinois will regrant come from the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund, which was established by the United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations in collaboration with the Office of the Governor. Additional funds come from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which received one-time funding from foundations that it swiftly regranted to help housing organizations fill the perilous gap in time before federal funding from the CARES Act begins to flow.

Housing Action Illinois is regranting funds to 30 organizations throughout the state, with a focus on Central, Southern, and Western Illinois. Awards range from $10,000 to $15,000.

Relief Funding Recipients:

BCMW Community Services, Centralia
BEDS Plus, La Grange
Call for Help, East St. Louis
Carbondale Warming Center, Carbondale
Catholic Urban Programs, East St. Louis
Courage Connection, Champaign
Decatur Macon Opportunities Corporation, Decatur
Dove, Inc., Decatur
DuPagePADS, Wheaton
Embarras River Basin Agency (ERBA), Greenup
Freeport Area Church Cooperative, Freeport
Helping Hands of Springfield, Springfield
Home Sweet Home Ministries, Bloomington
Hope Haven, DeKalb
Housing Forward, Maywood
JOURNEYS | The Road Home, Palatine
Lazarus House, St. Charles
Madison County Urban League, Alton
MorningStar Mission, Joliet
PADS Lake County, Waukegan
PADS of Elgin, Elgin
Phoenix Community Development Services (formerly South Side Office of Concern), Peoria
Pioneer Center for Human Services, McHenry
Project NOW, Rock Island
Shawnee Development Council, Karnak
Shelter Care Ministries, Rockford
South Suburban PADS, Chicago Heights
The Haven (formerly Mattoon Area P.A.D.S.), Mattoon
Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials, Quincy
Western Egyptian E.O.C., Steeleville

###

About Housing Action Illinois

Housing Action Illinois Awarded $340,000 to Distribute to Homeless Service Providers

Kristin Ginger — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Funds will be regranted to nonprofits throughout Illinois to support people who are homeless or unstably housed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2020
CONTACT:
Kristin Ginger, Manager of Communications & Development, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO – Housing Action Illinois has received funding through the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund (ICRF) and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) to regrant to partners throughout the state working to meet the immediate COVID-19-related needs of people who are homeless or who may become homeless.

People experiencing homelessness—many of whom are seniors and/or people with disabilities and underlying medical conditions—are at extreme risk for COVID-19, living in crowded conditions or other unsheltered congregate settings where they are unable to isolate, quarantine or recover. During this crisis, homeless service providers have had to balance providing much-needed shelter and services to even more people in need while also ensuring that public health guidelines are being met, which requires more resources to do. Extremely low-income renters, particularly people of color, are also at severe risk and face eviction and homelessness as their incomes decline due to job loss or reduced hours. Emergency rental assistance is urgently needed to help keep these individuals and families in their homes.

“Now, more than ever, it is clear that housing is healthcare,” explained Bob Palmer, Housing Action Illinois’ Policy Director. “A home is the best protection against COVID-19. When everyone has a good, stable home and can shelter in place, it protects us all.”

The majority of the funds that Housing Action Illinois will regrant comes from the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund (ICRF), which was established by the United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations in collaboration with the Office of the Governor. ICRF, which announced today that it has raised more than $30 million from over 2,400 donors since launching on March 26, provides flexible funding to nonprofit organizations across the state to supply essential resources to the individuals and households most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing Action Illinois’ award is part of a second round of grants.

“I am so proud to see Illinoisans stepping up and helping each other through these challenging times,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Thousands of Illinoisans have now contributed to this fund and I’m thrilled to see these resources going to organizations doing critical work in our communities.”

$50,000 of the funds to be disbursed comes from NLIHC, which received $3.5 million in one-time funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the JPB Foundation. NLIHC swiftly regranted these funds to 52 organizations in 27 states to help fill the perilous gap in time before federal funding from the CARES Act begins to flow.

“It’s been heartening and tremendously impressive to see all the ways our partners and members are stepping into this challenging time with extraordinary determination, courage, and resourcefulness,” said Diane Yentel, NLIHC president and CEO. “While there’s so much more work to do, each of the organizations we’ve regranted to—and so many more organizations throughout the country—are doing essential work that is saving the lives of some of our country’s most vulnerable and marginalized people.”

As Illinois responds, recovers, and rebuilds, no one can be left out. For everyone’s health and safety, it is critical to ensure that every resident can stay home and get better when needed.

###

About Housing Action Illinois

COVID-19 Update: Federal & State Action on Housing & Homelessness

Kristin Ginger — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:14:13 +0000

Federal Coronavirus Response Package Includes Funding for Homelessness & Housing

After long days of advocacy and negotiation, Congress has reached a bipartisan agreement on a $2 trillion direct spending bill to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday; now it goes to the House for approval and then to the president’s desk for his signature as soon as possible.

Thank you for your advocacy: it worked!

Overall, the bill provides more than $12 billion in funding for HUD programs, including:

$4 billion for Emergency Solutions Grants for homelessness assistance
$5 billion in Community Development Block Grants
$1.25 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program
$1 billion for project based rental assistance
$685 million for public housing
$300 million for tribal nations, and more

The bill also institutes a much-needed temporary moratorium on evictions and foreclosures for homeowners and renters in federally subsidized apartments and homes with federally backed mortgages.

Our partners at the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) have a full analysis and chart with more details.

This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated and effective advocacy of supporters, allies, and partners across the country. Our thanks to everyone who spoke up to call on Congress to meet the needs of people facing homelessness and housing instability during this public health crisis.

What comes next?

We have a lot more work ahead of us as this crisis unfolds. Housing Action Illinois will continue to work with our partners in NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition, as well as with stakeholders in Illinois, to urge HUD to get these new resources to communities in need as quickly and effectively as possible.

To help us in that work, NLIHC has released a new, interactive Housing Instability and COVID-19 Map. The map shows for each U.S. county the number of renters who are experiencing or at risk of housing instability, including extremely low-income renters who are severely housing cost-burdened or living in overcrowded conditions, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the Continuum of Care to which each county belongs, and which counties have confirmed COVID-19 cases.

We will continue to push for additional federal resources and policies needed to keep people experiencing homelessness safe and healthy and to ensure that low-income renters are stably housed.

Zeroing in on Illinois: State Efforts to Address Homelessness & Housing

Illinois Department of Human Services is making $6 million available throughout the state for isolation housing for people experiencing homelessness, as well as increasing homeless service providers’ funding by 5% to increase capacity. All Chicago Making Homelessness History will be facilitating the distribution of these funds and has sent the application out to local Continuums of Care.

Governor Pritzker has taken important steps to address COVID-19 in Illinois, including action to support those facing homelessness and housing instability. On March 20, he issued an Executive Order that includes a halt for court-ordered evictions around the state—a valuable protection for households on the brink.

Today, on March 26, the governor also announced the creation of the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund in collaboration with the United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations. This fund, which has already raised nearly $23 million from individual, corporate, and foundation donors, will be disbursed to nonprofit organizations across the state serving individuals, families and communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preventing foreclosures

Housing Action Illinois and NHS of Chicago are calling on Governor Pritzker to take additional steps to support low- and moderate-income homeowners and prevent foreclosures, such as:

Calling on all banks serving Illinois residents to suspend foreclosures for the next 60 days and respond thoughtfully to borrowers struggling to make payments
Supporting funding for housing counseling and relief for low-income homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments due to lost income from the COVID-19 crisis

In the coming days and weeks, our elected officials and communities will have to take significant additional actions to prioritize the needs of people experiencing homelessness and facing housing instability. Our communities won’t truly be on a path to containment and recovery until we provide for everyone’s health and housing needs.

A Place to Call Home: Stories from Supportive Housing Residents

Kristin Ginger — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 18:29:34 +0000

Read A Place to Call Home

A Place to Call Home, a new story collection published jointly by Housing Action Illinois and the Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA), shares the experiences of Illinoisans who have been homeless in their own words. Their lives and perspectives help shed light on a complex range of overlapping issues, from living with a mental illness or disability to surviving domestic violence and sexual assault.

“Most people don’t understand how trauma can shut you down,” writes Darius, who lives in Southern Illinois, who wants to become a motivational speaker to help others who are facing difficult circumstances.

Charles, from Rockford, remembers that “There were times when I wanted to give up. Nights under a bridge, nights spent in a public elevator to stay out of the rain.” But he has come a long way since then, and his story “is one of hope and recovery.”

The 18 stories in this publication grew out of Storytelling for Change, a year-long initiative during which Housing Action Illinois and SHPA partnered to bring half-day storytelling workshops for residents of supportive housing around the state. Individuals from Mt. Vernon, Peoria, Rockford, Hillside, and Chicago joined us to explore telling stories to make a difference.

Among other issues, the storytellers’ experiences pointed toward the critical intersection between housing and health. “After three weeks in the hospital, my doctor asked me if I was homeless. That question would be the first step to my new life,” remembers Laura. Her fellow workshop participant, Patrick, writes about being “in seven different hospitals over this two-year period” before getting connected with mental health services and finding his path to supportive housing.

Although the storytellers have faced intense challenges in their lives, many of them share the hope they feel now that they have been connected with services and are able to advocate for themselves and others.

“I’m dreaming again,” writes Stanley, who joined our workshop in Hillside, after reflecting on his tragic family losses and his descent into depression and suicidal ideation. “That feels so good, to be able to dream.”

“I will be going back to school this coming fall,” resolves Taj, a young woman from Chicago. “I’m going to make it happen.”

Meet Darius, Charles, Laura, Patrick, Stanley, Taj, and their fellow storytellers by reading A Place to Call Home, below.

Our thanks to the Illinois Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund for making this collaboration possible.