New Release Date:

December 16, 2017

For more information, contact:

Robert Kalnicky, CSC, (630) 234-0427

Veronica Gloria, Spanish Community Center, (815) 727-3683

JOLIET – At today’s meeting, the Will County Board recognized an important partnership that will greatly impact Joliet’s housing market. The Community Service Council of Northern Will County and the Spanish Community Center are joining together to form a HUD-approved agency in downtown Joliet that will assist clients with housing and financial literacy.

“Both the Community Service Council and the Spanish Community Center have done a lot to help the residents of Will County,” said Will County Board Minority Leader Herb Brooks, Jr. “This partnership will enable these agencies to expand their services to the residents in our Spanish speaking communities.”

The two United Way of Will County agencies will provide a housing counselor onsite at the Spanish Community Center, Monday through Thursday, to offer services such as rental counseling, financial literacy and education, foreclosure prevention counseling, home pre-purchase counseling, and information about the program Illinois Hardest Hit Fund.

“It’s possible that we’ll have even more programs to roll out in the near future,” said Robert Kalnicky, executive director for the Community Service Council of Northern Will County. “This is just the beginning of a long partnership with the Spanish Community Center.”

Since 1973, the Community Service Council of Northern Will County has offered a variety of counseling services, such as clinical, marriage, domestic violence, and anger management to the local residents. The council is also certified by the Department of Housing and Urban Department to provide housing counseling, at no cost, primarily in the areas of mortgage default and rental eviction. CSC has assisted more than 4,000 families in finding new homes.

Since 1969, the Spanish Community Center has offered a variety of “wrap-around services” in both English and Spanish to the Joliet community including: clothing and furniture vouchers, IDHS applications and renewals, employment services, weekly food pantry, housing counseling, and resource and referral program. In 2016, the Spanish Community Center assisted 95 local families and received a top-performer of bilingual housing counseling rating by the State of Illinois as part of the Latino Policy Forum’s Operation HELP.

Veronica Gloria, executive director, said she is also proud of this partnership, “Joliet has many needs in the area of housing which makes our partnership a natural fit,” Gloria said. “I’m glad that the county is moving in a direction that will truly benefit everyone. Often, when people are struggling with housing, they are struggling with finding a job, getting resources for food or need furniture. This is where many of our other wrap-around services come in.”

“Together, these agencies will offer vital connections to safe, affordable housing in Will County,” said Will County Executive Larry Walsh. “This partnership is a win-win.”