 | July 2024 Newsletter: Conference | Hope for Homes Day | Policy Advocacy | Housing Counselor Dispatch | Housing Action Corps | Instagram | Learning & Networking | What We're Sharing | Jobs | Member Shoutouts |
|
|
| | Conference Registration Open for Members |
| We're looking forward to returning to Bloomington for this year's Housing Matters Conference on October 17–18! During this annual event, we bring together 350+ professionals from the homelessness and affordable housing field to spark connections, get the latest updates, and share ideas. Right now, for the first time, we're offering a members-only early bird registration period. We've sold out for two years, and we want to make sure that our members can secure a spot while also saving with our early bird rate. Join as a member and register today » |
|
|
| | | Hope for Homes Day is a brand new, collaborative fundraising effort powered by Illinois nonprofits committed to ending homelessness. It’s a statewide day of giving to celebrate our collective spirit of philanthropy and to support the organizations that make Illinois a state where all can live and thrive. Double your gift when you give to Housing Action on July 18 (tomorrow!).
Join the movement » Thank you to the Knight Family Foundation for matching donations up to $1,500! |
|
|
| | | Supreme Court Decision Allows Punishment of Unsheltered Homelessness The Supreme Court's recent decision in Johnson v. Grants Pass allows jurisdictions to arrest and ticket people experiencing homelessness for sleeping outside, even when there are no available shelters options in their community. Our Policy Director Bob Palmer joined WTTW's Chicago Tonight to discuss the decision. "We need more constructive solutions to deal with people who are unsheltered,” Bob urged, lifting up Housing First and social service-based approaches, such as street outreach programs. We will continue to push back against this misguided, cruel decision in the coming months and year; stay tuned for more. |
|
|
 | Policy Director Bob Palmer joins WTTW's Chicago Tonight on July 1 to discuss Grants Pass |
| |
|
| New Report: Illinois Housing Wage Reaches $28, Rises Above $30 in Chicago Area To afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Illinois, full-time workers need to earn $28.81 per hour. This is Illinois’ 2024 Housing Wage according to Out of Reach, a report published jointly today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois. For the first time, in many areas, including Chicago and the collar counties, as well as the Kendall County metro area, the Housing Wage is now well above $30. Learn more » |
|
|
| House Appropriations Committee Passes Budget Proposal Cutting Key Housing Investments The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations passed its fiscal year 2025 spending bill for HUD programs on July 10 by a party-line vote, with 31 Republicans supporting and 26 Democrats opposing the proposed spending bill. While the bill proposes a slight boost to vital programs like Housing Choice Vouchers, it does not provide resources at the scale required to address the nation’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis, and it cuts key investments used by communities to address pressing housing needs. Learn more » |
|
|
| | Housing Counselor Dispatch |
|
|
| Summer Training Spotlight Join us next week (July 23–25) for a new training, Elevating Homebuyer Education in a New Era! This three-day training is designed to help housing counseling professionals evaluate and update their homebuyer education to align with current market trends and the needs of their clients. Register now » |
|
|
| Resources to Promote Sustainable Homeownership In June, Housing Action learned that we were awarded just over $600,000 in for a HUD pilot program to promote sustainable homeownership by providing access to quality housing counseling services. This comes in the wake of two other HUD awards we received earlier this year, one to support our multi-state housing counseling Intermediary network and the other for our national housing counseling training program. Collectively, we have now received just over $2 million in HUD funds this year to support our housing counseling agencies as they help more individuals and families find and keep good homes, thereby strengthening communities. |
|
|
| | Housing Action Corps Updates |
| Welcome New VISTA Leaders Join us in welcoming two new VISTA Leaders, Leah Martin and Patricia McClendon! After serving in AmeriCorps with Habitat for Humanity Anchorage and Literacy Volunteers of Illinois respectively, they will spend the next year supporting Housing Action Corps members and planning professional development opportunities for our network. |
|
|
| From Service to Certified: Housing Counseling Corps Since 2010, our Housing Action Corps has placed hundreds of AmeriCorps VISTA members with organizations across Illinois. Last year, our network expanded to match members of our Housing Counseling Corps initiative with housing counseling agencies nationwide. “Housing counseling is like a secret tool that should not be so secret,” says Jada, who is finishing her year of service at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Savannah Area in Georgia. “I have learned a lot—from laws to how to approach and guide clients. A lot of [housing counseling] is about knowing resources and things that already exist to fully support your clients. People come to you in need and you have to be a problem solver.” Read more » Know someone who wants to make a difference? Invite them to apply for Housing Action Corps by Friday. See our available positions here » |
|
|
|
|
| | | Housing Action Illinois is now officially on Instagram! We're new to the platform and would love for you to show your support by following and sharing our account. This is a great way to stay up to date on what we're doing. Follow us » |
|
|
| |
|
| Learning & Networking Events from us, our members, funders, and organizations to which we belong. Submit your listing » TOMORROW: Housing Counseling Ethics: Navigating Moral Responsibilities, 7/18: Register Elevating Homebuyer Education in a New Era, 7/23–7/25: Register Hosted by HUD's Office of Housing Counseling
OHC Annual Community Conference: Promoting Community, Driving Change, 9/17–9/19: Register Elevating Homebuyer Education in a New Era, 7/23–7/25: Register Marketing & Sustaining Your Housing Counseling Program, 8/8: Register Member Event: Communications & Development Coffee Hour, 9/18 (Chicago): Request invite See all upcoming Housing Action events » |
|
|
| | | | | Member Shoutouts Highlighting some of the good work our members are doing. - ZION Development is in the beginning stages of launching a housing counseling program after the announced closing of their local HUD-approved housing counseling agency in Rockford. ZION's existing staff has 20 years of housing counseling experience, and they are working toward becoming a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, which may take up to a year.
|
|
|
| | We are stronger together. Join us in the fight to create an Illinois where everyone has a good, stable place to call home. |
| | |
|
| | Housing Action Illinois
67 E. Madison Street, Suite 1603 | Chicago, Illinois 60603
312-939-6074 | communications@housingactionil.org |
| |
|
| | |
|
|
