Housing
Housing is a basic human right— confirmed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights—and a part of the American Dream for many Latino and immigrant families.
our housing agenda
Promoting Housing Accessibility
Latino families face significant challenges in accessing quality, affordable housing due to discrimination, rising costs, and limited access to resources. With the growing Latino population in Metro Chicago and Illinois, ensuring these families have access to adequate housing near employment, transportation, and community facilities is crucial for economic stability. Over half of Latino renters and homeowners struggle with housing costs, often spending more than 30% of their income, which is unsustainable. Many face foreclosure, homelessness, or the need to “double up” with extended family. Informed housing choices are essential for stability, but language barriers and increased demand strain housing counseling services. Although housing is a basic right protected by law, discrimination—often underreported—continues to limit housing options for Latinos, with race-related complaints accounting for over 40% of reported discrimination cases in Illinois. Anecdotal information also tells us that discrimination based on familial status and other protected classes under various fair housing laws limit housing choices for Latino families.
Housing Education
Research shows that housing counseling and education are critical in helping distressed renters and homeowners. Such services are especially critical in Latino communities where residents struggle with foreclosure, displacement, and loss of wealth.
Despite the importance of housing counseling and education, Latino Policy Forum analysis of HUD certified/approved housing counseling organizations reveals that the demand for counselors in predominantly-Latino communities far outpaces supply. In response, the Latino Policy Forum currently coordinates two programs related to housing education:
Fair Housing Ambassadors: To ensure equal access to housing options, the Latino Policy Forum engages and empowers Latino households through its Promotores de Vivienda Justa (Fair Housing Ambassadors). Promotores are community members recruited from local universities who are trained in federal, state, and local fair housing ordinances. They provide leadership, peer education, support, and resources for community empowerment. Promotores travel to various community venues, including Chicago’s Mexican Consulate, to conduct workshops and provide information. Promotores empower the public with knowledge of fair housing rights and responsibilities and expand housing choices for all community members, including Latinos.
Affordable Housing
When a family pays more than 30 percent of its monthly income towards housing, their housing expense is considered unaffordable, putting them in an even more vulnerable position during economically difficult times.
The burden of unaffordable housing puts a strain on funds for other basic needs, such as food, medical expenses, education, and savings. Across Illinois, more than half of Latino renters and homeowners are burdened by excessive housing costs—a frustrating number that is mirrored by statistics for Latino renters and homeowners in the City of Chicago. Nearly 70 percent of Chicago’s Latino households are considered low-income, meaning that a family of four earns less than $60,000 annually. Even as housing counselors recommend that families not spend more than 30 percent of their household income on housing—a figure that works out to be approximately $1,000 monthly for the average Latino family in the City of Chicago—more than half of local Latinos are forced to spend more, per 2011 Census data. Given that the average Latino household is approximately four people, families are hard-pressed to rent a three-bedroom apartment for $1,000/month in Chicago, a market where the going rate for such a space is $1,200. And Latino homeowners, many of whom were targeted for high-cost, sub-prime loans before the real estate bubble burst, now struggle to make costly mortgage payments, putting them at risk of losing their hard-earned homes.
Homelessness
Data from the City of Chicago reveals that 10 percent of the city’s homeless population is Latino—but anecdotes from the community and economic realities suggest the actual number is much higher.
Shifting paradigms around homelessness might also include the thousands of Latino families who have lost their homes to foreclosure or rent burden and are forced to “double up” with extended family, friends, or neighbors in unsustainable housing arrangements. Exacerbating these challenges is the paucity of Spanish-speaking staff at homeless shelters and homeless prevention call centers. Language barriers, coupled with insufficient outreach to Latinos, create a gap in services available to Latinos facing homelessness.