Open Communities, the leader in Fair Housing Advocacy for Chicago’s north and northwest suburbs, is hosting a series of free workshops and events throughout October for landlords, tenants, homeowners, and potential homeowners. These programs are also ideal for educating people working in the housing, banking, and rental industries. All programs are free and will be held via Zoom.
EVICTION PREVENTION – Friday, October 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
With the moratorium on evictions ending, Open Communities is hosting this workshop on multiple days to help those possibly facing eviction. Geared toward both landlords and tenants – especially justice impacted individuals – this workshop provides communication strategies to mitigate evictions. Discussion topics include steps to take if you think you might be evicted, legal protections, and resources and services for eviction prevention.
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/177525813487
POST PURCHASE PROGRAM – Tuesday, October 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
In partnership with Wintrust Bank
Owning a home can be overwhelming – especially financially. Open Communities’ Post Purchase Program provides homeowners with information on preventive maintenance, sustaining homeownership, taxes (both property and income), foreclosure, financial pitfalls, working with a contractor, and creating an emergency plan.
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/177371973347
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS – Wednesday, October 13, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Knowing your rights is the first step to defending yourself from housing discrimination. Join us to learn more about fair housing. This online workshop will cover the protected classes under the federal, state, and local fair housing laws. It will also explain reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, dealing with tenants who require service animals, who is liable under the Fair Housing Act, and how fair housing laws are enforced.
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/170336395745
HOUSING & COMMUNITY CONVERSATION – Friday, October 15, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
We hosted this last month, and it was such a success that we are doing it again. Housing has a history of inequality. In this workshop, we facilitate a discussion between community partners, housing leaders, and concerned citizens about housing. Whether it is redlining, generational wealth, affordability, or any of the many other ways housing is an unequal system, we want to talk about it. How did we get here? What are the biggest concerns at the moment? What can we do to ensure equitable outcomes of housing goals for our community?
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/177379706477
PRE-PURCHASE WORKSHOPS – PREPARING FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP
A four-part, 8-hour series – Monday, October 18 – Thursday, October 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Note: Participants must register for all four sessions.
This course provides prospective homebuyers with an understanding of housing affordability, the home purchase process, credit readiness, and how lenders determine financing. It will cover budgeting tips, debt management, and setting financial goals. Participants will also learn about loan types, financing products, the closing process, and the professionals involved in the homebuying process. The course concludes with a discussion about post-purchase and foreclosure prevention.
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/177464459977
LANDLORD 101 TRAINING – Sunday, October 24, 12:00-2:00 PM
This workshop educates current and future landlords, including management companies, about common Fair Housing issues, landlord protections, and legal versus non-legal matters. It covers Fair Housing laws and working with the Chicago Housing Authority and Housing Authority of Cook County. Landlords will also learn about appropriate communication with tenants and conflict resolution strategies.
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/landlord-training-tickets-177515953997
COOK COUNTY JUST HOUSING ORDINANCE – Friday, October 29, 1:00-2:00 PM
Cook County’s Just Housing Ordinance goes into effect in January 2020. This ordinance provides housing protections for people with prior convictions and new background checks requirements for housing providers. In this presentation, our experts review fair housing rights and details about the new ordinance. We explain the Just Housing Ordinance, how it affects rental background checks, which convictions landlords can consider when screening housing applicants. We also look at what an “individualized assessment” is and how to conduct one, as well as what to do if you are illegally denied housing due to prior convictions.
· Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/just-fair-housing-tickets-170317106049
For more information about these events and other Open Communities programs, please visit www.open-communities.org/
If 400 Americans have as much wealth as 150 million, many Americans are living in conversion vans and tiny homes and you add to that that 70% of the population is making 50 thousand or less regardless of family size … what do you think is going on here? How about time to be immense and teach people how to fish or survive. And for those of you you don’t care about anybody else consider this, that as a business owner who is super large i.e you know the super big guys which need no advertisement know that: 1. This gives big companies more power to do coercive control at work and keep salary depression happening 2. It makes it so companies have so much power politically and gives you less power when you go to buy things as well because there are limited companies you can go to to get your item and it makes it harder to shop around 3. It has pushed the American public to the wall so that people have to work multiple jobs which can then extend the pandemic because of people have to do this, they may go to work sick in order to avoid other consequences
Then you add to it, massive environmental damage, broken people having mental health issues and then it gets too abuses going on in homes and workplaces because people are not introspecting and they don’t even have time to do it.
What needs to happen here? People need to vibrate at a higher level of consciousness and use a blend of head and heart.