OUR COLLABORATIONS
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
– Helen Keller
Back Office Housing Collaborative (BOHC)
Due to the complexity of reporting and compliance issues, housing agencies like HOW find that 20% of their staff work in accounting and housing back office support roles. To reduce the number of staff dedicated to these back office support roles and provide better service and reporting to clients, landlords, and funders, HOW is partnering with two other supportive service agencies, La Casa Norte and Renaissance Social Services Inc. to share and improve reporting, IT, and accounting infrastructure. The BOHC provides excellent back-office support at minimum cost to housing agencies.
Better Health Through Housing Collaborative (BHH)
HOW is one of the lead participants in the Better Health through Housing Collaborative, a partnership among supportive housing agencies, Hospitals, and health clinics. BHH is an alliance of 28 housing agencies dedicated to expanding and improving permanent supportive housing across Chicago and Suburban Cook County for medically complex and indigent households. The Collaborative currently leads two innovative housing projects that provide housing to extremely vulnerable people who are homeless in Chicago, including homeless individuals who were living under the Lawrence, Foster, and Wilson viaducts under Lake Shore Drive.
Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA)
A statewide association of non-profit organizations who provide supportive housing - affordable housing, enriched with supportive services - to individuals and families who are homeless and/or have special needs, such as mental illness, substance abuse issues, or other chronic illness, such as HIV/AIDS. SHPA's mission is to strengthen the supportive housing industry, to enable the increased development of supportive housing, and to support non-profit organizations to develop the capacity for providing permanent supportive housing. Members network with one another, access the latest information, and advocate at the state and federal levels, with the aid of Springfield lobbyists.
Partner Spotlight:
Healthy Moms Healthy Kids
Healthy Moms Healthy Kids (HMHK) was an innovative cross-sector collaboration between HOW and the Chicago Department of Public Health designed to address health disparities experienced by pregnant and parenting African American women. Upon the program's conclusion, the Center for Urban Research and Learning released a report outlining the project's impact. According to the report, HMHK helped young mothers to develop a deeper understanding of health-related issues, gain better access to healthcare resources and information, reduce emergency room use, and more. You can read the full findings of the report here!