This Fair Housing VISTA will be hosted by Open Communities located in Evanston, IL. Open Communities is a part of the Housing Action AmeriCorps Network, an AmeriCorps VISTA program managed by Housing Action Illinois since 2010. As such, this position will receive customized training, support, guidance, and networking opportunities, in addition to the traditional opportunities for AmeriCorps VISTA positions. Open Communities is rooted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in Chicago's Northshore neighborhoods. Today, Open Communities’ mission is rooted in achieving housing justice through fair housing and housing counseling activities. Our mission is to ensure that housing in Chicago’s northern suburbs is fair and inclusive; we pursue this goal by offering workshops, investigating housing discrimination, providing support to low-income homeowners and home-seekers, advocating for policy change, and more. The AmeriCorps VISTA member will provide critical work through indirect services such as community outreach, workshop development and delivery, grant compliance coordination, and organizing. The member’s work will span several diverse projects. First, the member will join our fair housing team to co-develop, organize, and execute a comprehensive workshop curriculum and library, and will contribute to the development of landlord/tenant guidebooks for Evanston residents. Second, the member will lead special outreach projects in historically marginalized communities to expand our counseling participant base. Third, the member will partner with our development team to improve agency-wide compliance and reporting tools. Fourth, and finally, the member will organize community meetings with various stakeholders to better identify and address community needs in the realm of housing. The most important qualities in a candidate are an understanding of and commitment to housing justice, strong communication skills, and adeptness in using research and data.