We're looking forward to gathering in person next week in Bloomington, IL for our annual Housing Matters Conference! We're pleased to say the event has hit capacity, and we're excited to see new and familiar faces as we gather to celebrate our 35th Anniversary, spark connections, get the latest updates, and share ideas.

Registrants can start planning their experience by viewing our online program »

National Call-In Day Today: Ask Congress for Increased Housing Investments

State and local governments and the communities they serve rely on federal resources to meet the housing, homelessness, and community development needs of their communities. However, Congress has underfunded these resources for decades. We're joining our partners at National Low Income Coalition for a national call-in day today, October 12, to urge members of Congress Urge to support key priorities in Fiscal Year 2023, including full funding for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance program, $5 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund to preserve public housing, $5.04 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund, and $3.6 billion for the Homeless Assistance Grants program.

Call or message your legislator now »

Federal Legislation to Strengthen the CRA Introduced

While communities and advocates await a final regulation from federal Community Reinvestment Action (CRA) agencies, the House Financial Services Committee has introduced a legislative proposal to address statutory concerns. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, introduced the Making Communities Stronger Through the Community Reinvestment Act (H.R. 8833) to end modern-day redlining by making key reforms to the CRA. The aim of this proposed legislation is to more equitably drive significant resources to community developers in the hardest-to-reach communities.

Key Changes to the Violence Against Women Act Go into Effect

Key changes to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) went into effect on October 1. Previous iterations of VAWA covered only certain federal housing programs, such as the Housing Choice Voucher and Tenant-Based Rental Assistance programs. The reauthorized VAWA expands housing protections for survivors in other federally subidized homes, including “catch-all” language to ensure all survivors living in federally assisted housing for low- and moderate-income households are covered by VAWA protections. Importantly, the act prohibits retaliation and penalties against a survivor for reporting criminal activity to the police. This prohibition extends to state and local governments with local “crime free rental housing ordinances” and similar ordinances receiving Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.

Three Agencies, Countless Possibilities

At the end of September, Regions Bank announced a $20,000 donation to Housing Action Illinois that will be sub-granted to support three affordable housing initiatives throughout the state. This community collaboration supports housing programs and resources for at-risk and low-income families served by the Embaras River Basin Agency, the Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Council, Inc., and the C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation. Each organization is an established community partner of Housing Action Illinois.

"Housing Action Illinois builds the capacity of organizations to better meet the housing needs of people across Illinois,” said David Young, Housing Action's Director of Capacity Building. “Regions Bank’s donation allows us to focus on supporting organizations in Central and Southern Illinois, which have many of the same housing issues as other areas but often cannot secure additional funding.”

Learn more »

Housing Counseling Career Path in Spanish

This fall, we're offering our Housing Counseling Career Path training in Spanish! Learn what you need to start your housing counseling career and prepare for the HUD Individual Certification Exam. Register today:

• Housing Counseling Career Path (Spanish) (Nov. 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17)