Housing Action
Counseling Network
Since 2006, Housing Action Illinois has provided crucial training and programmatic support to housing counseling agencies. Becoming a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Intermediary in 2014 was a natural extension of this work.
Helping Our Network Help Communities
As a HUD-approved Intermediary, Housing Action supports a network of housing counseling agencies in the Midwest and beyond. We help these organizations by providing one-on-one guidance and securing resources, including grant funding from HUD that we subgrant to our partner agencies. We assist organizations in navigating the process for HUD approval and ensure the agencies in our network meet program standards and pass annual reviews. We also aid them in expanding services, compiling reports, and understanding new developments in the field.
With our support, these agencies reach more families and create more change in their communities.
Reaching More Individuals & Families
Our network of subgrantee agencies offers an impressive array of housing programs and services. The agencies provide financial management and budget counseling, mortgage delinquency and default counseling, pre-purchase education, one-on-one homeownership counseling, rental information, fair housing guidance, rehabilitation programs, reverse mortgage counseling, homeless prevention support, predatory lending education, and foreclosure prevention options.
In FY23, our Housing Action Counseling Network helped…
households understand their housing options
5,018
households improve their housing situation
1,304
households purchase their first home
7,909
households create a healthy budget
1,001
households prevent or resolve a mortgage default
275
households facing homelessness find housing
116
households avoid eviction
A Decade of Growth
Since starting in 2014, our network has nearly tripled in size from twelve to thirty-five subgrantees. After starting with an initial award of just over $300,000, we now manage more than $1 million in counseling funds, helping our subgranteees become more efficient and provide more comprehensive services.
Going National
Housing Action Counseling Network agencies are primarily located in Illinois, but we began welcoming Midwestern states to our network and now have subgrantees based in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. In 2023, we welcomed our first subgrantee beyond the Midwest, based in Tennessee.
2024–2025 Housing Action Counseling Network Subgrantees
Housing Action Counseling Network Subgrantees 2024-2025
Access Living – Chicago, IL
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
Cornerstone Community Development Corporation – Ford Heights, IL
Embarras River Basin Agency – Greenup, IL
Erie Neighborhood House – Chicago, IL
Far South Community Development Corporation (formerly Genesis Housing Development Corporation) – Chicago, IL
Good Neighbor Foundation – Franklin, TN
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 – Skokie, IL
The Housing Partnership, Inc. – St. Louis, MO
The Journey Forward – Chicago, IL
Justine Petersen, Inc. – St. Louis, MO
La Casa de Esperanza – Waukesha, WI
Lake County Housing Authority – Grayslake, IL
Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) – Chicago, IL
Love Columbia – Columbia, MO
METEC – Peoria, IL
Northside Community Development Corporation – Chicago, 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
Join Us: Become a Subgrantee
As an Intermediary, Housing Action’s geographic priority region is the Midwest, but we are now national. Organizations must be registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or an instrumentality of government to join Housing Action’s Intermediary network. Any potential subgrantees must also be HUD-approved or interested in becoming HUD-approved. We can help your agency assess whether you’re is in a position to become HUD-approved and work with you to secure approval.
For more information, contact David Young, Director of Capacity Building, at (312) 939-6914 or david@housingactionil.org.
Resources for Current Subgrantees
Ongoing Trainings
Our Housing Action Training Center brings a robust lineup of trainings trainings designed to meet the unique needs of housing counseling agencies.
Individualized Guidance
Our Capacity Building Specialists offer one-on-one advice and help to Intermediary agencies, supporting organizations in everything from troubleshooting staff turnover to preparing for HUD reviews. Please reach out to our team with any questions or concerns.
Securing Resources
In addition to subgranting annual funds from HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling to our affiliates, we secure additional HUD grants when opportunities arise and sub-grant assistance, spread the word about opportunities that organizations can apply to directly, and regularly advocate for increased funding at the federal and state levels to support housing counseling programs.
Subgrantee Spotlights
Navigating Transition: LUCHA
LUCHA’s Housing Opportunities Program helps individuals and families find and keep good homes in the Chicago area through its HUD-approved housing counseling services. But in 2018, the program went through an intense transition period with staff changes and restructuring. In the aftermath, LUCHA realized they were facing a variety of issues: their client records were incomplete and out of date, they needed a more rigorous program model with concrete goals and outcomes, and they needed to cross-train their housing counselors. With an official review quickly approaching to determine if they could keep their HUD approval, the team realized they needed outside help. They joined Housing Action Illinois’ Intermediary network, giving them access to the hands-on expertise of Housing Action’s Capacity Building Specialists.
Read our case study to see how we helped »
Bringing It All Together: Respond Now
Respond Now, which provides immediate, short-term assistance to families in the Chicago Southland, first relied on Housing Action Illinois as a policy advocate. The social services provider looked to us for state and federal policy updates and to advocate for policies that would help them help their clients.
Then, five years ago, Respond Now realized that their clients needed help with foreclosures and came to us for assistance. Together, we developed a plan for creating a new housing counseling program. Housing Action trained their staff in counseling, helped them find funding, and placed an AmeriCorps VISTA who worked extensively on their application for HUD certification. We’re proud to say that today Respond Now is both a HUD-approved housing counseling agency and part of our Intermediary network, with the capacity to serve 300 clients a year.
