Funding

Collaborations
SCH has several key collaborations to help advance its mission of assisting very low income families’ access to home ownership and housing resources. SCH is a key component of the Humboldt Park Redevelopment Area (HPRA) partnership with the Fannie Mae American Dream Initiative. The HPRA working group is made up of the Congressman and Alderman office as well as other community based organizations and developers. SCH provides the housing counseling service to prepare local residents to become mortgage ready and matches them up with affordable units in the Humboldt Park area. SCH also has working collaborations with the Hispanic Housing Home Pride Program, Claretian Associates, Chicago Connections, New Vision Development and others.

Agency Leadership
The Executive Director, Ofelia Navarro, has been with the agency for the past eighteen years. Ms. Navarro started working with SCH as a housing counselor, a position funded by a grant from the Chicago Community Trust. At the time, there were only two other people on staff. When the agency was looking for a new Executive Director, she was a natural fit. Under her leadership, SCH staff grew from 3 to 34, from one to three locations, and from an organizational budget of $100,000 to a 1.5 million dollar budget. Ms. Navarro is a long-time advocate for affordable housing and believes in providing quality comprehensive services that reach out to lower-income people. She is a member of the City of Chicago Community Development Advisory Committee, Fannie Mae’s Illinois Partnership Advisory Council, Humboldt Park Redevelopment Area Advisory Board, as well as various other housing committees.

Budget
Spanish Coalition for Housing has a budget of close to 1.5 million dollars. The majority of funding comes through government sources including HUD, CHA and the City of Chicago Department of Housing. SCH receives regular corporate support from 10-12 financial institutions. The homeless prevention funds come from the McCormick Tribune Neediest Families Fund. SCH is seeking to diversify its funding sources due to increased demand for its services.