Alice Nicholson with staff from a local restaurant who supported Lake-McHenry Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build event.

One of Alice’s roles with Lake-McHenry Habitat for Humanity has been public outreach—spreading the word about Habitat’s services throughout Lake and McHenry counties and building partnerships with organizations across both communities. “I’ve joined 16 Chambers [of Commerce] across two counties,” Alice explains. “It’s about building relationships and building community. I feel that I can segue between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors because of my background. I’m able to explain what Habitat does, what our mission is, and how we can help people. It creates a ripple effect—one connection leads to another, and as more people learn about Habitat, that awareness can turn into partnerships, resources, and ultimately tangible results for the families and communities we serve.”

“It’s surprising—when I’m at an event, many people do not realize the full extent of what Habitat does,” Alice says. She often shares information about Habitat’s Critical Home Repair program, which provides essential repairs and accessibility modifications for seniors, people with disabilities, and current military/veterans. The program can address serious needs such as unsafe staircases and roofs, as well as installing ramps and bathroom grab bars to help people remain safely in their homes.

Through her outreach and community meetings, Alice is helping bring greater awareness to this program, along with Habitat’s new home construction and the items at its ReStores. “At Chamber meetings, you never know who you’re going to meet,” she says. At her first Chamber meeting in January, Alice connected with a nurse who represented a Lake County home health care organization serving seniors. “I thought, who better to talk with about Critical Home Repair than a nurse who is serving the local senior population?” Alice says, “Many seniors want to remain in their homes, but repairs can be extremely expensive when they are living on a fixed income. If they meet the qualifications, they can apply for our Critical Home Repair program when applications open a few times a year.” For Alice, that connection is exactly what community outreach is about—bringing Habitat’s resources to the people and organizations that can help connect those resources with the individuals who need them most.

Alice was also tasked with recruiting and supporting individual and corporate volunteers, whose contributions are essential to Habitat’s work. “Habitat homes and repairs would not be completed without volunteers,” she explains. Her own experience as a volunteer has given her a deeper understanding of what it takes to create a meaningful volunteer experience and has helped her better support Lake-McHenry Habitat for Humanity’s volunteers.

“I can relate to so many different perspectives—whether it’s a corporate volunteer, a stay-at-home parent, or a retired volunteer,” Alice says. “In order to work with volunteers, you need to have been a volunteer. You can’t ask people to do something you haven’t experienced yourself. It’s really important to engage with volunteers, make sure they enjoy the experience, and help them see that the time they’ve given has truly made a difference.”

“When I saw the AmeriCorps VISTA Habitat community outreach position, it made sense because of my career background and my own volunteer experiences,” Alice concludes. “I wanted to give back to the community, and Habitat was a natural fit for my interests in community development, outreach, and helping people. Being civic-minded and volunteering has always been part of my family—both growing up and while raising my three children.”

Now, Alice hopes her experience will encourage others to consider AmeriCorps VISTA service at any stage of their careers. “You don’t have to be a recent college graduate to serve,” she says. “Whether you’re looking for a career change, reentering the workforce, or simply looking for a meaningful way to give back, there’s an opportunity to use the skills and experiences you already have to make a difference in your community.”

After her year of service ends, Alice will continue to work with Lake-McHenry Habitat in a new position called Government Relations and Economic Partnerships. She will work with elected officials and municipalities throughout the two counties to form partnerships with Habitat for Humanity.

Open Communities offers both fair housing and housing counseling programming, which equips Open Communities’ staff to solve a wider range of problems their clients may be facing. “When folks call and they’re experiencing housing instability or a crisis, from their perspective it’s just a crisis and they need help. They don’t know the delineation [between programs] so it’s great to have both in one agency.” It has also given Sarah a unique perspective on the problems her clients face. “There are so many issues for folks that present as either an affordability issue or a credit issue that is preventing them from getting into housing…but if you have a fair housing lens, you can ask about patterns,” Sarah says. “Are there patterns with a particular housing provider? You can work on their individual goals and at the same time ask the broader systemic questions that may be affecting their ability to access the housing they want to live in.”

Sarah wishes that more people would take advantage of the services Open Communities and similar organizations offer–and reach out for help earlier. “You can just call for resources. You don’t have to know exactly what you need. You don’t need to be in crisis to call. I really wish people would come to us before they’re a year in default. If they’re worried about being able to afford their mortgage, talk to us now.” To help make more people aware of their services, Open Communities has been “talking to social workers in municipal government offices, in the tax assessor’s office, where people are already at when they’re struggling with a housing issue.” “They don’t have all the answers either,” Sarah explains. “So making them aware of our services and just continually showing up where people are already at is important to make sure more people get the help they need.”

Open Communities is also expanding their programs and outreach to support the aging populations in their area. “We are trying to reach out to people before they need subsidized housing to see if there’s a way, if they want, for them to age in place or age in their community.” In addition to letting more people know about their services, they are also pursuing partnerships with other organizations. “Aging in place means a lot of different things to different people,” Sarah explains. “There are all kinds of services people may need as they age. We’re learning from the community what those needs are and trying to find partners so that when we do our budgeting or foreclosure or mortgage education workshops, we also have another partner to talk about in-home care, chore services, to talk about all these other kinds of wraparound services.”

Sarah and other Open Communities’ staff members see the value in cultivating relationships with clients over long periods of time. Most pre-purchase clients “are not going to be mortgage-ready within the next year and that’s fine…Our housing counselors sometimes have stayed with clients for years. It’s very unusual for a social service to be there for years to go through the whole process with someone, to really build a rapport and be a resource for people.”

To help people stay engaged, Open Communities’ housing counselors work to meet clients where they are at and highlight the progress they are making even if they can’t reach their goal immediately. “The best way to retain folks is that you have both short-term and long-term goals, as well as just maintaining a regular meet-up schedule and checking in.” 

However, it is still challenging to work through difficult life circumstances. “If you’re making progress on your goals and then you have a medical emergency or your car breaks down and it derails your goals, sometimes it’s hard for people to feel encouraged and get back on track.” Sarah and other staff at Open Communities deeply value the strength of their relationships with their clients, which helps to support them through setbacks. “It’s not just about the number of clients we have, but the real care and time that we spend with them. That can make a really big difference, especially in communities with a lot of older adults, or where folks are really isolated and they don’t have a community safety net to make sure that things are going well with them.”

Open Communities is dedicated to continuing their programs and spreading awareness about housing counseling through the challenges their organization and community members may face. Sarah hopes that seeking counseling will eventually become commonplace for potential homebuyers. “The expectation that educating yourself, like driver’s education, is something that you need before buying a home, and that it should be appropriately valued and funded as well; that would be my long term ideal,” Sarah concludes.

Cornelius’ interest in the housing counseling career stemmed from his time working as a loan officer. He saw how confused many people were about the homebuying process and how easily someone could be pushed into signing agreements that they did not understand. “I saw other loan officers rushing people, urging people to ‘hurry up and sign here’ because a lot of it was commission based so you’ve got to meet the quota,” he explains. This setup is dangerous for uninformed buyers. “People get so excited about buying a home. They don’t understand that there’s a reason why there’s 30 pages of documents you have to sign and 99% of people don’t read it. They really count on someone to slow down and give them that education about what’s going on.” 

Ultimately, Cornelius realized, “I’ve got to get to them the step before me.” When Cornelius was a Loan Officer, he  was invited to present at a HUD Pre-Purchase group education event at Genesis Housing Development (which later merged with Far South CDC), and immediately after the HUD event he later called Genesis asking to become a housing counselor. “My passion is helping people, but my passion is also dealing with finance, so putting it together is how I started my career as a housing counselor,” Cornelius reflects.

The services offered by Far South CDC can help clients at any point in the homebuying process. “We can help anyone at any stage of housing, whether it’s rental, pre-purchase, post-purchase, or foreclosure prevention. We also do financial coaching and disaster counseling.” Whatever challenges the client might be facing, according to Cornelius, “Wherever you are, we’re going to meet you right there where you are.” Client intake starts with a pre-assessment “because a lot of times people may think ‘I want to do this’. We use [the pre-assessment] to get a little bit of background on what the situation is, because there are certain people, for example, that might want repairs on the home–but they’re three months behind [on mortgage payments], so we gotta slow them down. You’re in court, we gotta deal with the court situation first, then we can help with repairs.”

 Cornelius’ passions give him the drive he needs to continue to serve his clients. The stresses of being a housing counselor are often overlooked. “You really have to have a passion in this field,” Cornelius explains. “You’re going to have some people that just panic. They’re scared, they’ve never seen a court summons, they’ve never been asked to go to court for a mortgage. You have some people that are renters and the landlords are trying to do illegal evictions and we have to calm them down. They’re coming to us panicking and scared, but they’re depending on us to help guide them to fix the situation.”

 Despite the challenges, Cornelius recognizes that housing counseling really can change the course of his clients’ lives. “I’m going to treat you the way I would like to be treated. I’m going to put 100% in, like I would want someone to put 100% in to help me. That’s the way that I look at every client that comes. You treat people the way, if you were in desperate need and you came to an organization, how would you want to be treated?”

Organizations like Far South CDC help their communities become more stable. Access to housing counseling resources ensures that people can put down roots in a community and avoid displacement from their homes. “We help renters in the community, we help people in the community achieve the American Dream and get thousands of dollars of grant assistance to help in their journey, and we help people in the community get the most out of their homes by assisting with home repair options and resources,” Cornelius says. Housing Action is committed to building the field of housing counseling in both Illinois communities and beyond, aiming to help more low- to moderate-income families everywhere access the knowledge and resources they need to find and keep safe, affordable housing.

Sarah Leys, Director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Rockford

Her commitment to listening to the needs and opinions of others was born out of her own personal experiences. After initially working at a bank, “I became a mom, and had three kids pretty close together, so I ended up home full time with them. My perspective just changed. I realized what it’s like to be a parent and trying to keep things good for your kids and what the community needs to be for that.” Sarah adds,  “I saw how hard it was for housing to happen for moms. Housing was a big reason I had to make certain decisions, because I just didn’t have a choice.”

This experience pushed Sarah to spend time working for Habitat for Humanity and then Home Start. These experiences showed her that her concerns about housing were shared by many people throughout the community. “Seeing what happened when the families found stability shaped my viewpoint. There was one Habitat owner that had three boys, and in the 15 years she was an owner they all graduated, went to college, one got a Master’s, two got doctorates,” she remembers. “The stability of her being able to be home at night because she only needed one job to pay for that house had really changed what her kids were able to do. That impact has always stuck with me.”

On her transition from nonprofit leadership to government work, Sarah says, “[As a non-profit leader] you’re managing the board and the audience, and if you’re in-between you have to pick your mission, and then you zero in on that. You really go after the funding to do your part.” It’s different from working for the city, she reflects, because “The government makes a lot of the decisions about bringing stakeholders together, or thinking about the foundational funding, some of the underwriting. There’s a lot that’s influenced about the housing discussion that I couldn’t do from a nonprofit lens. I’m working directly with our local decision makers. I have direct relationships with the city council, the mayor, city administrator, the other regional government [initiatives] I’m involved in. I still have all my nonprofit partners, and I try to [collaborate with] as many as I can.” Sarah’s experiences with nonprofits have allowed her to approach her government role with a deeper awareness of how the two entities can work together to solve housing issues.

This perspective will also be valuable to Housing Action’s board. “Given where funding and decisions are going, local governments are becoming more and more important. For years, there’s [been] enough federal money for this and that, but as this administration dries that up and resets whole offices,  the funding picture really changes federally. We have to make sure our local and state are built correctly to hold the foundation for the long term.” 

When asked why she joined Housing Action’s Board of Directors, she replies, “I joined the board because I love the organization, but also because I think having a government representative  will help shape any new [directions Housing Action may have to take].” 

We are excited to work with Sarah in the coming years and look forward to her insights.

RoxAnne first became involved with the county through a part-time position while working at a nonprofit in the area that focused on housing counseling. After the nonprofit closed, RoxAnne and other staff members at the county saw that there was still a need for housing counseling in the area and started offering counseling services directly through the county. 

Until a requirement that all housing counselors pass an exam to become HUD-certified, Jefferson County offered counseling services independently. If the agency hadn’t become certified, “We would not have been able to do the counseling for any of the people that were looking at buying homes in Jefferson County,” RoxAnne explains. “We would have been sending [clients] out to Madison or Milwaukee, which is 45 minutes from us.” In Jefferson County, “We’re more rural. So a lot of my stuff is still face to face. My people use cell phones. They don’t have computers, so trying to look at a loan estimate or closing document on a cell phone just doesn’t quite cut it.“

The HUD certification has also allowed Jefferson County to work with clients throughout more of the homebuying process. “Before our HUD certification, people would come in [once they had accepted an offer], and we would do their counseling…Now, because of HUD certification, they can come in anywhere along the way. So someone could want to buy a house a year from now versus just someone who has accepted an offer and is closing soon. Now we take them all where before, it was just anybody who had an accepted offer.”

RoxAnne is also careful to ensure that her clients will be able to continue to afford their homes after a purchase. “I think the hardest part is telling somebody, ‘You’re not quite ready, you need to save a little more, the budget needs to be tweaked a little bit.’ I don’t want you to be house rich and cash poor. I want you to be able to afford it, and I don’t want to see you in six months back saying I need help with my budget. I can’t make my house payment.” This approach leads to longer term success but relies on more involved counseling from RoxAnne and her colleagues.

Jefferson County’s housing counseling program has recently moved into their department of economic development, which allows for collaboration on tackling housing issues. “Right now it’s kind of tough,” says RoxAnne. “There’s not a lot out here that they can afford or is available. Part of what we’re doing now in economic development is looking at developers to put up homes. We know a lot of the newer homes that are going up are going to be a little out of range for the clientele that I work for, but we’re hoping that the starter homes that those people are selling are the ones that my clients would be able to afford.” These collaborations between housing counselors and other branches of the Department of Economic Development allow for a more comprehensive solution to housing problems in the area.

In addition to the financial challenges faced by her clients, RoxAnne has also sometimes found it challenging to convince people that housing counseling services are worth it. “Some of these programs require code inspection and all these other things, and some people think ‘I don’t want to do that. I’m going to just get the straight loan. I don’t want to apply for the grant because then I have to jump through all these other hoops.” However, RoxAnne and the other employees rely on relationships with lenders and realtors throughout the county to spread the word about their services. “Our real estate agents are asking ‘have you been to the bank yet?’ a lot more. And when they go to the bank, the bank is going to say ‘You qualify for the grants. Go see RoxAnne over at Jefferson County.’” She also mentions that word often spreads between friends.

There are many initiatives to look forward to in Jefferson County. “I’m excited that we’re going to have new employees [working in housing counseling]. We’ve also got homes that Habitat [for Humanity] is putting up. We’ve got four new industries that are coming into Jefferson County.” The growth of these industries coincides with the growth of Jefferson County at Home as a housing counseling provider, allowing for them to help the people of Jefferson County take full advantage of the opportunities provided.

Many people don’t know about the potential benefits of housing counseling services, which can help clients with a variety of challenges, including navigating purchasing a home, getting a mortgage, funding home repairs, and the foreclosure process. “We go to community events all the time and people say ‘I didn’t know,’” Maria says. “Our services tend to be free, although this depends on the program,” she adds. “We do have a couple of people that say ‘Oh really, you’re free?’ and they are hesitant to start the process, but once they realize [they’re] getting this information they come back and say ‘I am so glad that I went through this.’” 

H.O.M.E. DuPage has been a member of Housing Action for more than 20 years and is one of 34 sub-grantees in our Housing Action Counseling Network. When Housing Action was awarded just over $600,000 from HUD through a newly launched Homeownership Initiative program, we were able to sub-grant funds to a handful of agencies, including H.O.M.E. DuPage. The goal of the new program is to promote sustainable homeownership by providing access to quality housing counseling services and for housing counselors to build strong relationships with clients. “The purpose of that program is to get people to get a mortgage, to be able to purchase a home, and then come back. It’s purchasing a home and actually coming back to see where you’re at with your finances after you purchased,” Maria explained. The housing counselors have found that a major barrier to homeownership was budgeting. “A lot of the people‘s highest expense was fast food. So once they realized that they were spending $700-$800 a week on fast food, and that could actually help them if they reduced that amount. That can actually go towards the mortgage payment or the extra expenses of when you are now a homeowner and you have to do the repairs and the maintenance.”

The Homeownership Initiative also has provided a launching pad for the development of H.O.M.E. DuPage’s new post-purchase counseling workshop. Maria explains, “if you’re going to do pre-purchase counseling, we want to be able to see you all the way through and not [only] see you when you’re having problems making your mortgage payment.” 

Inspired by the grant’s follow-up structure, H.O.M.E. DuPage is developing their post-purchase workshop to provide a structured way to stay in touch with clients who have purchased homes. Although some are hesitant to attend a one-on-one appointment,  “if we say ‘we’re going to have a workshop and we’re going to talk about what your mortgage statement looks like,’or ‘we’re going to have a handyman talk about what you can do around the house for maintenance,’ maybe that’s going to incentivize them as well,” says Maria.

H.O.M.E. DuPage continues to expand their programming even beyond topics directly related to the grant. “One of our two coaches, Jill Kimak,  just received certification for the NACCC credit counseling. The other coach, Nereida Ortega, is working on that as well, and I just started providing reverse mortgage counseling,” Maria says. H.O.M.E. DuPage has a lot planned for the coming year, but all of it is essential to ensuring more Illinoisans can get and remain in their homes.

​Kadasha Hershey served not just one but two year-long terms as a Systems Change AmeriCorps VISTA at Community Opportunity Alliance before joining their staff as a Program Associate. She helps coordinate capacity building programs and membership operations, including support for several projects that she started during her service. 

“A lot of what I’m working on now has flowed very naturally from my VISTA service, and I’ve been able to see through the completion of multiple projects,” says Kadasha. “I’ve been able to begin things as a VISTA, end things as a Program Associate, and now am looking into the future and seeing how we’re going to continue these services, programs, and strategies.”

AmeriCorps members take many different paths when they finish their terms of service, from continued national service to graduate school or traditional employment. Kadasha Hershey, Paul Panciera, and Rae Lindow—and 34% of our 2024-2025 Housing Action Corps cohort—are continuing their professional development at their host sites after accepting full-time staff positions. We caught up with these three recent alumni to learn more about their experiences during service and their new staff roles.

​After witnessing the housing crisis in Vancouver Island while attending college, Paul Panciera applied for a Chicago-area position with Housing Action Corps to learn about housing development firsthand and start a career in the field. 

“AmeriCorps was perfectly aligned with my future goals, and I got the exact experience out of it that I could have hoped for,” Paul says. “I knew that I wanted to get into housing after college, but I didn’t necessarily have the background for it as a political science major….AmeriCorps could help me get that foot in the door, while also serving my community.”

As an Affordable Housing Development VISTA, Paul helped coordinate the closing of an 81-unit mixed-use development in South Chicago, a project Claretian Associates has been working on since 2009. This development is being constructed on one of several vacant parcels of land lining a commercial corridor that the organization is planning to develop and rehabilitate. After completing his year of service, Paul accepted an offer as a Corridor Manager, where he is excited to continue supporting the development of this commercial corridor. 

“It’s one thing to study housing from the policy side, but it’s another to actually be the one doing the development yourself. You end up learning a lot more about how development actually works,” reflects Paul. “One of the things that made staying at Claretian more attractive was this land and the opportunity to shape a whole corridor. You are part of the team that decides the direction of this whole city block.”

Rae greets participants at Open Communities’ Walk the Redline event

“This role is almost a continuation of what I was doing before. As an Intake Coordinator VISTA, I built up our intake program. Towards the end of my service, and moving into my current role, I shifted to doing more communications projects, too,” Rae notes. “Open Communities has been very accepting and welcoming. They trusted me to do a lot of work independently and take the lead on projects.”

Rather than direct service, AmeriCorps VISTA members focus on capacity building projects that work behind the scenes to expand their programs, resources, and partnerships. One of Kadasha’s favorite projects from her service was planning a Midwest Convening, which gathered community development leaders from throughout the region in person to share best practices and opportunities to support their work.

“We gathered in St. Louis to share meals and learn from one another, while also getting to see and hear about the local community development landscape,” describes Kadasha. “The relational resilience and the strength of [the community development] sector has been encouraging to observe. It’s very mutually supportive and beneficial–we’re all out to support each other. It really is about relationships at the end of the day.”

Kadasha decided to serve in AmeriCorps after finishing graduate school to build professional experience and explore ways to apply her education in macro social work. While she was already familiar with social programs and systems, her AmeriCorps VISTA position opened her eyes to the field of community development and set her on track for a future career path. 

“Community development is the backbone of our communities,” Kadasha reflects. “It’s so impactful to see the work going on in the field and the difference that investing in communities can make. Community development often goes, ‘Look at what this neighborhood could be, if it had the resources and support.’ …It’s the beauty of people seeing the potential of their homes and being able to make these aspirations a reality. They see the beauty already, because it is already there, but they get everyone else to see it and support it as well.”

While Paul chose his Housing Action Corps position with intentions of launching a career in housing, he recommends AmeriCorps service for anyone looking to grow their professional development and explore new fields.

Paul discusses Claretian Associate’s development projects at a community breakfast

After gaining more experience in community and economic development while at Claretian Associates, Paul hopes to leverage this knowledge into a future career in housing policy. 

“Ultimately, I would like to have a policymaker role at the city or state level, reforming some of the laws to make [housing development] easier,” Paul says. “Now having worked on the development side, I have a better understanding of what that means.”

During Rae’s service, she created a comprehensive Intake Manual that outlines how to support people through a variety of housing circumstances, as well as how staff can practice self-care after handling a crisis situation. Serving with Housing Action Corps helped her learn about fair housing issues, as well as housing resources and programs. 

“Coming from a different state, and being in a college bubble before, I learned so much moving to Chicago,” Rae recounts. “Each person’s story is completely different. Everyone deals with issues related to their housing–even me–but we don’t talk about it, and there are not enough action plans to help everyone in all situations. I wish more people knew about some of the housing programs that are available, and also that these programs were funded better, so they are more available and accessible to people.”

Rae is currently applying for law school and hopes to pursue a legal and policymaking career, a decision which she attributes to her experiences with fair housing. 

“While working my intake position, I refer so many people to legal aid, for issues small and big,” says Rae. “I see law as a way of doing both direct service, but also working on bigger issues at the same time. While I may start out working 1:1 with people, I think it is so pivotal to expand access for people, so I would want to work on that side of things too.”

When asked what advice Kadasha has for those who are considering AmeriCorps service, she had an immediate answer: “Just go for it.”

“AmeriCorps is a great way to see where your passions and skills lie, and how those match up with the work you want to do,” Kadasha describes. “If you are interested in what equitable housing and equitable opportunities for entrepreneurship, food access, parks, creative placemaking–if you’re interested in what these organizations are doing to brighten and support their communities, then Housing Action Corps is a great way to get introduced to this work and to find others who are also interested and passionate about this work too.”

About Housing Action Corps

From launching new programs to growing volunteers and donors, Housing Action Corps members spend a year of service helping their host sites enhance their services, resources, and partnerships to meet community needs in new ways.

Applications to host AmeriCorps VISTA members with Housing Action Corps in 2026-2027 will close on January 31, 2026. Members will serve full-time with organizations in our coalition from September 2026 to September 2027. 

Learn more about serving as a Housing Action Corps member or becoming a 26-27 host site »

AmeriCorps VISTA Sandra Lee-Reams at Senior Services Plus’ annual open house

Sandra’s role as a Home Repair VISTA has shown her firsthand how essential Senior Services Plus’ programs are. Sandra helps manage the organization’s Direct Installation Measures (DIMs). “These measures include LED light bulbs, kitchen and bathroom faucet aerators. We have shower heads. We have pipe insulation, window insulation kits, door sweeps and smart power strips. So we keep those all in the office, and I distribute those to the community as they come in and ask for them,” says Sandra. 

When asked how she spreads awareness about these services, Sandra says, “A lot of traffic goes in and out of the building…so people just come in and inquire…We also have an open house once a year where the whole building is open and we offer soft drinks, water, tea and things like that, and we have all our direct style measures out on tables…there’s tables from different departments, and each department lays out flyers about what they do here in the building.” The community center functions as a hub to help people find whatever type of help they need.

In addition to working within the center, Sandra and her colleagues plan outreach events throughout Senior Services Plus’ service area. There, they hand out bags with essential items and educate residents about weatherization and energy efficient resources provided by Ameren, the energy company serving the region. Sandra acknowledges the difficulty of this outreach, especially when SSP covers such a wide area. “There’s a need for a lot of home repairs in this area, if you’re trying to cover Madison County and all the other surrounding counties, East St Louis and other places, there are a lot of people who need to have home repairs done, and you know, it’s just kind of hard.”

However, Sandra came into her VISTA year ready for the challenge. “I’ve always loved community outreach. I’ve loved working in the community. It’s an extension of what I used to do, working in education—working in the community, working with children.” 

Sandra’s VISTA position is designed to help raise awareness and scale up assistance  so more people can benefit from SSP’s support. These programs show the power of ensuring older adults can maintain their own homes while also belonging to a community that helps them access the resources they need. SSP manages to bring both to the table–and, in doing so, strengthens the seven counties of the region it serves.

A client browses the CFB furniture warehouse

That spirit of service is echoed by Michael Tracy, a former Housing Action Corps AmeriCorps VISTA member who was hired as the Development and Marketing Coordinator after his service year at CFB. Tracy’s journey—from early service work in the PeaceCorps to serving as a VISTA member to his current role—has been driven by a deep commitment to community. “It’s inspiring to me… to know that whether you’re in and around the city, if you’re a part of Chicagoland, your work matters here,” he says. His work has been instrumental in expanding volunteer outreach, bringing more hands and hearts to a mission that continues to grow.

Tracy emphasized how his VISTA year prepared him to step into a full time role. “It prepared me because I’m doing similar work. I’m working with a lot of the same people in the same space,” he explained. It also helped him learn how to pivot quickly while taking on a wide range of tasks in different areas depending on current needs.”

When asked about his decision to stay on at CFB, Tracy shares an excitement  about the future of CFB. “It’s a young organization. They just celebrated their seventh year in July, and they’ve made massive strides in those seven years. They’ve served thousands of homes and grown tremendously, but I still think there’s untapped potential.”

One of CFB’s new events, the Great Chicago Bed Race, is taking place this Sunday, September 28th, when 10 teams will race twin XL mattresses on wheels down Walnut Street. “It should be a lot of fun,” Tracy says. ”We’re going to do a bunch of heats and we’ll have a winner.” Proceeds from team registrations go towards furnishing homes. The event will be hosted at Midwest Coast Brewing and is free for spectators.

When explaining the unique importance of their organization, both Ullum and Tracy emphasize what’s often overlooked: furniture poverty. “People don’t think about the need for furniture,” Ullum explains. “We think about clothing, housing, and food—but if you have nowhere to sleep or sit or eat, that impacts your daily life, too.” Tracy adds, “Having a home is one thing, but having a furnished home—a place you feel comfortable—is just as important.” For the families served by the Chicago Furniture Bank, furnishing a space isn’t just about comfort; it’s about anchoring themselves in a new chapter of hope. 

Photo provided by CPAH, featuring a mom and daughter who are smiling because they realized their dream of owning a home by purchasing a CPAH Community Land Trust affordable home in Wilmette, IL.

Bobby’s supervisor, Brad Dennison, President of Affordable Housing Corporation (the construction arm of CPAH), brings a similar sense of purpose to the work. From his beginnings in for-profit housing, Brad gravitated toward service-based approaches that prioritize tenant well-being and stability. CPAH has expanded into new construction projects, including plans to develop 40 affordable housing units annually. AmeriCorps VISTAs such as Bobby have played a key role in this growth, contributing to data infrastructure, project management systems, and capacity building efforts that support CPAH’s evolving needs. Brad sees their work as foundational to community health: “Home is your safe place—when people have that, they can focus on the rest of their lives.”

Both Brad and Bobby emphasize a simple but vital truth: many in the community cannot afford safe, decent housing. CPAH helps over 1,000 households a year, and yet the need is growing. Brad notes, “We are very grateful to our Housing Action Corps VISTA. Having Bobby support our efforts is making a big difference, and will enable us to help even more people!”