Spanish Coalition for Housing Assists More Than 2,000 Households Amid Pandemic

Spanish Coalition for Housing
Published: March 17, 2021

With the pandemic still among us, Spanish Coalition for Housing (SCH) is eager to continue helping its neighbors through the impacts of COVID-19. All throughout the past year, the housing counseling agency served as a helping hand to its communities, quickly adapting to assist clients virtually and connect them to a variety of housing resources as many faced economic uncertainties.

Among these efforts, SCH helped over 2,000 households access utility assistance, impacting more than 4,000 individuals to maintain affordable housing. Furthermore, SCH counselors helped more than 560 households receive rental and mortgage assistance. Most recently, SCH relaunched its Community Alliance Workshops, further connecting its neighbors to City resources.

“Our communities were hit especially hard this past year by the pandemic; therefore, we were eager to help as many people as possible, and transitioning to remote operations allowed us to do just that,” said Joseph Lopez, Executive Director of SCH. “Additionally, with the relaunch of the Community Alliance, we are able to directly connect our neighbors to CHA resources through free, hands-on workshops.”

As part of the Community Alliance, the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) Diversity Outreach Initiative, SCH provides Chicagoans with free educational services teaching attendees about affordable housing, senior housing, CHA housing waitlist and admissions and opportunities for job seekers, business owners and landlords. In addition to the workshop curriculum, SCH staff takes the time to connect with each of the workshop attendees to better learn about their specific needs and connect them with other available resources, such as financial education, foreclosure counseling or energy bill assistance.

With the workshops and other SCH services being held virtually, agency staff has been helpful to each client to ensure they understand how to use the remote platforms. They are also helping clients register for workshops over the phone as well as following up with those who may have missed a session to help them sign up for the next one.

SCH staff members invite anyone interested in their services or that has questions about available resources to email (help@sch4housing.org) or call for dedicated assistance (North Region: 773-342-7575; Southeast Region: 773-933-7575; Southwest Region: 312-850-2660)

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About SCH: Spanish Coalition for Housing is a 501 (c)3, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) certified Housing Counseling agency that was founded in 1966 and has grown exponentially in the years following. SCH sees and successfully serves over 10,000 clients each year.

Keywords: affordable housing, COVID-19, COVID-19 resource, financial assistance, Free, free program, Free Services, housing, Housing Assistance, Support