Our Philosophy Our Work Partnerships Media and Press People Join Our Team
Case Study 1Organization Served by Lumity: Chicago Rehab Network
Community Impact: Preserving Low-Income Housing
Housing, like health care and education, is critical for family and community success. The Chicago Rehab Network (CRN) works to further the development and preservation of safe affordable housing in Chicago and Illinois.
Need: Loss of low-income housing is often due to a lack of knowledge of expiring Department of Housing and Urban Development contracts. HUD data, including contract expiration dates, is available online but is provided in many format, with inconsistent tracking and updating across departments; analyzing data across departments in order to get a full picture of low-income housing is a monumental task. Lumity helped the Chicago Rehab Network create a system that combines information and allows them document the impact of HUD contract expirations on low-income communities.
Outcome: Using data gathered by this system, Illinois House and Senate members saw how HUD contracts affected their constituents. “It really hit home for many of the legislators who didn’t initially believe that their districts would be affected,” said Ayanna Thomas, Chicago Rehab Network Program Officer. Based on the information, the state passed legislation that sets a national precedent that is helping low-income tenants preserve affordable housing units.