Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Celebrates Grand Opening Of New South Side Hub

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago recently celebrated its new south side homeownership office located on 639 E. 87th St. in Chatham. Photo Credit: Ty Acierto
Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago recently celebrated its new south side homeownership office located on 639 E. 87th St. in Chatham. Photo Credit: Ty Acierto

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Celebrates Grand Opening Of New South Side Hub

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

During a recent grand opening ceremony, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago celebrated its new south side homeownership office, 639 E. 87th St., in Chatham. At this new location, Chicagoans will be able to receive assistance with mortgage lending, recommendations for certified contractors and repairpersons in the area, housing counseling services, and resources for successful homeownership.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago is a nonprofit organization that offers mortgage lending along with a wealth of resources for potential and current homeowners. The organization believes that homeownership is essential to strengthening communities and advocates for working families to build wealth through homeownership, according to information from the Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago.

While Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago has been working with south side residents for quite some time, the new south side hub will serve as their permanent stake in the community and allow residents to easily attend workshops, educational seminars, and meet in person with their mortgage lender.

“It’s a place where people from any of our south side communities can come and get the services we provide. Our central office is in Wicker Park which is a really long way for people to go,” said Tiffany Smith, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago’s Chatham program coordinator. “By us opening this office here, it’s kind of putting our stake in the ground and saying that ‘we are here.’ While we’ve been investing in the community prior to opening the hub, we are physically here now and we have a space for you.”

As a second-generation Chatham resident, Smith said that the south side location is not only important because of the services that will be provided but also because of where it is physically located next to Seaway Federal Credit Union which has a history of supporting black homeownership.

“I was delighted to learn we were going to put our hub in the Seaway building, which has always been an anchor in the Chatham community. Even larger than that, there’s historical relevance there with Seaway being one of the first banks that allowed African Americans to get mortgages and that’s how we populated Chatham. To me, this is like closing the loop and coming home again,” said Smith.

In 2018, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago created 279 homeowners and counseled more than 1,000 residents on the south side and they are excited for the opportunity to increase those numbers with this new office, according to information provided by Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago.

To learn more about Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and resources available at the south side office, visit www. nhschicago.org.

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