Momentum: 35 Years of Housing Action

35 Years of Housing Action
we’ve come a long way
SHELLY RICHARDSON
Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois | Housing Action Illinois Board Member from 2019–present
Shelly Richardson (sixth from right) with 2018 Board of Directors
“I have learned that just because we lose
a battle, it does not mean that we have
lost the war.”
My relationship with Housing Action Illinois dates back to 2007,
when I was first employed at IMPACT Center for Independent
Living (CIL) in Alton. One of my first assignments at my new
job was to research the Illinois Housing Development Authority
(IHDA)’s programs and to compile a list of low-income housing
units in our area. I was a single, disabled mother who was utilizing
what was then known as a Section 8 voucher, so I was keenly
aware of the importance of low-income housing. My passion
was fueled when my boss introduced me to Housing Action and
suggested that I join their advocacy committee. Soon after that,
I attended my first Housing Action Illinois conference. I was
mesmerized and so excited to be in a place where everyone was
as passionate about housing as I was.
Not long after my conference experience, Gianna Baker, former
Outreach Manager at Housing Action, traveled down to IMPACT
CIL to meet with me to talk about the housing issues that we faced
in our area. In those early years, I learned so much about housing
advocacy from both Gianna and Bob Palmer, Housing Action’s
Policy Director. I have had the privilege of being involved with
many of Housing Action’s advocacy efforts, but the biggest one
that sticks out in my mind, especially because of the recent victory,
was the fight to add source of income (SOI) protections for renters
across the entire state of Illinois. I remember sitting in the office
of one of my local legislators with Gianna and asking him to sign
on to this legislation. He looked at us like we each had two heads
and told us that he would not do it because it would mean political
suicide. We have come a long way since then.
Working with Housing Action Illinois has taught me that
perseverance is the key to advocacy. Thank goodness that
Housing Action persevered over these long years for SOI
legislation, as well as many other pieces of legislation that have
ended up as wins for housing issues across this state. I have
learned that just because we lose a battle, it does not mean that
we have lost the war.
I came to my current position as Executive Director of the
Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois (SILC) in March
of 2017. One of the first things I did was sign SILC up as a
member organization of Housing Action Illinois. I had learned
over the years that there is strength in numbers. Soon after that,
I was asked to sit on Housing Action’s Board. I also referred
the new Executive Director of the Illinois Network of Centers
for Independent Living (INCIL) as a potential Board member
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