This Fair Housing Month, we hope you'll join us to raise your glass at our annual Toast to Housing Justice. We're planning a fun, relaxed evening with pizza, beer provided by Revolution Brewing, music, friendly faces—and a chance to win great prizes at our raffle and silent auction. Best of all, by attending, you'll support Housing Action's work toward an Illinois where everyone has a good, affordable place to call home.

Catalyst Ranch | Chicago, IL
Thursday, April 13, 2023
6:00–9:00 PM

Rules are being made that will determine how strong of a tool the IL CRA is for building a fair, inclusive system of lending and investment. Housing Action Illinois and our allies have prepared a letter to urge decisionmakers to ensure that the implementation of the IL CRA meets the needs of low- and moderate-income Illinoisans, especially people of color.

The deadline to add your organization to our IL CRA Coalition comment letter is 5:00 pm CT TODAY (March 15).

Sign on now »

HOME Illinois is a Historic Investment to End Homelessness

Governor JB Pritzker’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal invests $350 million in state and federal funding to prevent and end homelessness. While some resources will come from existing funds, a new $200 million line item will rely on state General Revenue Funds, and the plan provides historically high levels of new investments using state funds to serve everyone in Illinois without a home.

Housing Action has helped organize the Illinois Shelter Alliance to advocate for  for emergency shelter funding, and the alliance particularly appreciates the plan's “$155 million to support unhoused populations seeking shelter and services, inclusive of $55 million to the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.”

Read our full response to the HOME Illinois proposal »

Making Dreams Possible: Housing Counseling in Spanish & English

It was her own experience as a first-time homebuyer that inspired Cory Hernandez to work in financial empowerment and help people access services and information to buy their own first homes. Now, she works as the Financial Literacy & Home Ownership Counselor with Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission. While searching for an interactive way to prepare for the HUD exam, which certifies housing counselors to provide services through HUD programs, she found Housing Action's Housing Counseling Career Path training. Cory took the Spanish course to ensure she had tools to serve her Spanish-speaking clients as well as her English-speaking ones.

Learn more about Cory's experience and the Housing Counseling Career Path in Spanish: Read our spotlight in English or Spanish »

Register for our next Housing Counseling Career Path trainings in English (April) or in Spanish (June).

Deadline Extended: Host an AmeriCorps Member

Submit an application by March 24 to host a summer or full-year AmeriCorps member. Housing Action’s network places AmeriCorps VISTA members with organizations to tackle projects that strengthen communities and fight poverty. and see what a difference an AmeriCorps member can make in your community.

Interested in serving as an AmeriCorps member in Housing Action’s network? Early bird applications are now available! Open positions will be posted on our website soon.

Counseling. Prevention. Housing. 360 Youth Services has provided services in these areas to youth and families in Chicago’s Western suburbs for 50. They  joined Housing Action as a new member in 2022 to support our advocacy efforts, particularly the push for funding to prevent and end homelessness. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 360 Youth Services began an emergency shelter program, providing non-congregate housing through hotel rooms—a change that reflects broad shifts in homeless service provision throughout Illinois.

“Building a whole new program, adding staff and forging additional relationships with the community… we had to figure out how to provide shelter when there was no shelter,” recounts Valerie Tawrel, 360 Youth Services’ Director of Housing.

Read more »

The Housing team at 360 Youth Services