Stable, affordable and decent housing is a critical element in any person's dignity, personal stability and ability to serve as a productive and integrated member of our society.  Heartland Alliance's housing team meets people with different needs or at different phases of their lives, be it coming off living on the streets, moving from public housing to mixed-income units, or owning their first home.

Our housing programs provide four walls and a roof, but we also do much more. We build communities, applying what we learn to identify emerging needs, educate policymakers and civic leaders, and encourage life-changing opportunities for our program participants. Our work includes:

Development:

We have developed more than 1,600 units of affordable housing, ranging from multifamily and single-room occupancy to senior housing. Developments are financed with a variety of public and private funds. Upholding the highest standards of design and construction, Heartland Alliance has been recognized with local and national awards from groups such as the Urban Land Institute and the Chicago Realtors Association.

Property Management:

Heartland Alliance currently manages more than 600 units of affordable and supportive housing for impoverished Chicagoans. We pair our knowledge of how to maintain the financial soundness and overall integrity of our buildings with an understanding and support of clients' strengths and needs, often providing customized programs and services to serve residents and the community.

Supportive Housing Services:

Supportive housing, which connects social services to affordable or subsidized housing, has been shown to be effective and provide significant savings in time, money and resources. In our supportive housing programs, Heartland Alliance  integrates case management with budgeting, counseling, education, employment, and other services.

Homeless Services:

Heartland Alliance has a long-standing commitment to working with men and women who live in shelters or on the streets, providing a wide variety of services to meet their needs. We operate homeless prevention services that bridge a temporary fiscal gap to keep a family from losing their housing, provide opportunities for  permanent housing for families who are homeless, and offer services and housing for homeless individuals who suffer from mental illness and substance use problems.

Housing Policy Analysis and Advocacy:

Using the experience from our work providing housing across Chicago and the Midwest, Heartland Alliance advocates on housing issues, both legislatively and administratively to the local and state government agencies that operate key housing programs. Read more about our public policy successes in housing.

Signature Housing Programs:

Heartland Alliance operates more than two dozen programs that incorporate housing as a key component, serving a wide variety of populations. Read more about our signature programs in housing.