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CAFHA's approach to public policy is driven by the experiences of those directly impacted by unjust housing policies and practices.

POLICY ADVOCACY AND GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING

CAFHA's unique network of community leaders, housing advocates, legal experts, and government officials sets our policy work apart. Our members and community partners meet on a regular basis to discuss emerging issues and strategies to drive real change and long-term solutions for our affordable housing and community development challenges. 

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Just Cause for Evictions

There are an average of 23,466 eviction filings each year in Chicago, and estimated 25% of those are due to no fault of the renter. These evictions are often the result of retaliation, discrimination, or gentrification. We know that Black women in particular bear the brunt of this unjust system of displacement and face lifelong consequences. Moreover, for individuals who face discriminatory housing barriers, notably voucher holders and  individuals with arrest and conviction records, even a mere threat of eviction has the potential to manifest uncertainty and fear that can be destabilizing. Just Cause for Eviction would end no-fault evictions in Chicago. 

Just Cause for Evictions Website

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Chicago Healthy Homes Ordinance

Unlike other cities across the country, Chicago conducts home health inspections upon receiving a complaint, often after injury or illness, has already occurred. The Chicago Healthy Homes Ordinance (CHHO) seeks to create a system for proactive inspections and ensure that rental housing receives regular health inspections whether or not a complaint has been made. This ordinance will make Chicago’s housing safer by identifying home-based health issues before they become serious bring greater parity between subsidized and non-subsidized renters by eliminating a common barrier to the acceptance of housing vouchers.

Chicago Healthy Homes Ordinance Website

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Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program

Denied the benefits that stemmed from large homeownership subsidies and credit expansions available to past generations of white families, Black families today are disproportionately renters. Many use or are in need of subsidies, like the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. Renting with HCVs adds a layer of stigma to an already precarious market. Since 2000, local public housing authorities (PHAs) have been able to implement programs that shift participants from a typical housing choice voucher that pays a portion of monthly rent to one that covers either the down payment of a home, or a portion of its monthly mortgage. HCV Homeownership programs have the potential to change the intergenerational wealth -building trajectory of thousands of families.

Read our latest research on PHA/HCV Homeownership Programs

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Reentry Housing Advocacy Initiatives

One of the most pervasive barriers to equitable housing opportunities is the use of arrest and conviction background checks. Black people are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated as whites. Housing discrimination against people with records are often proxies for race discrimination. In addition, 62% of men and women in Illinois prisons are parents of minors whose lives are also impacted. With limited housing options, individuals with records and their families face an amplified risk of homelessness, and people experiencing homelessness have an increased risk of incarceration, thereby creating a cycle of instability that only safe and stable housing can break. CAFHA works with individuals most impacted by incarceration and collaborate with our network of partners to identify the most urgent housing issues and develop targeted, systemic solutions. We also provide education and outreach on housing rights along with resources for those impacted by incarceration.

Request a Training on Fair Housing Protections for People with Arrests and Conviction Records.

Additional Efforts:

Just Housing Amendment Enforcement: CAFHA has a dedicated housing organizer and outreach coordinator who work with directly impacted leaders and organizational partners to advance policies and respond to inquiries related to housing barriers for people with arrest and conviction records. We facilitate an annual community navigators program, which is a housing justice fellowship for returning residents. Community navigators receive a monthly stipend for program participation, training on topics, such as community organizing, the history of fair housing, and more. Fellows also assist our team in providing outreach and education to individuals and families in Cook County most impacted by incarceration and inform our advocacy initiatives.

Housing Choice Voucher Leaderboard: The Housing Choice Voucher Leader Board advocates for the fair housing rights of Chicago voucher holders. CAFHA's dedicated housing organizer brings voucher holders from across Chicago together to workshop, from multiple angles, potential solutions for increased program accessibility and success.  

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly!” 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

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