South Suburban Housing Center
South Suburban Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1975 that provides HUD-approved housing counseling and fair housing enforcement services across southern suburban Chicago, Will, and Kankakee counties, serving individuals, housing providers, municipalities, and financial institutions free of charge.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1975
- HeadquartersHarwood Heights, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What South Suburban Housing Center does
South Suburban Housing Center (SSHC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1975 and headquartered in Homewood, Illinois. It operates as a HUD-approved housing counseling agency and a regional fair housing enforcement organization serving more than 100 communities across southern Cook, Will, and Kankakee counties in Illinois, with extended coverage in Lake County (Indiana), Grundy County, and Iroquois County. The organization is led by Executive Director John Petruszak and governed by a volunteer board. SSHC marked its 50th anniversary in 2025, anchored by remarks from U.S. Representative Robin Kelly.
SSHC's core offerings fall into two interconnected lines: fair housing enforcement investigations (controlled testing, complaint investigation, and federal litigation) and HUD-approved housing counseling (foreclosure prevention, mortgage distress counseling, pre-purchase counseling). Supporting services include a volunteer fair housing tester program, down payment assistance programs in Hazel Crest and Northwest Indiana, rental referral, housing stability services, fair housing training workshops for housing providers and municipalities, mortgage distress workshops, homebuyer education, and policy advocacy on measures such as the Just Housing Amendment and the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance. All direct services are delivered free of charge.
The business model is grant- and donation-funded. HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) is the primary revenue source, supplemented by tax-deductible individual and corporate donations, event sponsorships (notably from regional financial institutions such as BMO, CIBC, Citi, Wintrust, Fifth Third, and Old National), and passive contributions through the AmazonSmile program. SSHC has co-led several landmark federal fair housing cases — including a $53 million settlement with Fannie Mae and a $4 million settlement with Redfin — alongside the National Fair Housing Alliance, HOPE Fair Housing Center, Open Communities, and other regional fair housing organizations. Distribution is hybrid: in-person, phone, email, and contact-form intake, with services promoted through community partnerships, events on Eventbrite, a newsletter, and a VolunteerMatch-managed tester recruitment pipeline.
South Suburban Housing Center firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- South Suburban Housing Center
- Legal name
- South Suburban Housing Center
- Website
- https://southsuburbanhousingcenter.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1975
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- South Suburban Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1975 that provides HUD-approved housing counseling and fair housing enforcement services across southern suburban Chicago, Will, and Kankakee counties, serving individuals, housing providers, municipalities, and financial institutions free of charge.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
South Suburban Housing Center industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fair Housing & Housing Counseling Services
- NAICS
- Other Community Housing Services (624229)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Public & Affordable Housing Programs (Subsidies, Vouchers, Public Housing) (BPAIANAA)
Keywords
Where South Suburban Housing Center is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Harwood Heights
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
South Suburban Housing Center business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: SSHC operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit primarily funded through HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) grants and other philanthropic sources. The organization leverages grant funding to administer free housing counseling and fair housing enforcement services.
- Donations: Tax-deductible monetary donations from individuals and organizations. The organization also receives donations through AmazonSmile program.
- AmazonSmile: AmazonSmile donation program where 0.5% of eligible purchases are donated to SSHC when customers select the organization as their charity.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
South Suburban Housing Center product offering
Product offeringCore offering
South Suburban Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers fair housing enforcement investigations and HUD-approved housing counseling services at no charge. Core services include federal, state, and local fair housing discrimination investigations and litigation; HUD-certified mortgage distress counseling, foreclosure prevention, and pre-purchase homebuyer counseling; a trained volunteer fair housing tester program; and fair housing training workshops for housing providers, lenders, insurers, and municipalities. All services are free and primarily serve residents of south suburban Chicago, Kankakee County, and Northwest Indiana.
Product overview
South Suburban Housing Center is a regional non-profit organization offering a unified portfolio of fair housing enforcement and HUD-approved housing counseling services. The core offerings center on Fair Housing Enforcement Investigations (testing, litigation, and case investigation) and HUD-Approved Housing Counseling (mortgage distress, foreclosure prevention, and pre-purchase counseling). These are supported by supplementary programs including Down Payment Assistance Programs (Hazel Crest and ICF Northwest Indiana), Rental Referral Information, Housing Stability Services, Fair Housing Training & Workshops, Mortgage Distress Workshops, Housing Policy Advocacy, and a Fair Housing Tester Program utilizing trained volunteers. All services are free to clients and primarily serve South Cook County, Southwest Cook County, Northeastern Will County, Kankakee County, Lake County Indiana, and underserved Illinois counties.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fair Housing Enforcement Investigations Investigation and litigation of housing discrimination complaints for individuals and communities experiencing discrimination in the housing market. Services include intake of complaints, paired testing investigations, and filing of federal, state, and local court cases to ensure victims are made whole. Delivered free of charge by SSHC as a HUD-recognized fair housing enforcement organization.
- HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Comprehensive HUD-approved housing counseling services for individuals and families, including mortgage distress counseling, foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase home buyer counseling, rental referral information, and housing stability services. Counseling is delivered free of charge by HUD-certified counselors via phone, email, contact form, and in-person appointments at the Homewood, IL headquarters.
- Fair Housing Tester Program Structured fair housing testing program in which trained volunteers, posing as home seekers, conduct paired telephone and on-site contact tests to detect and document discrimination in the rental, sales, mortgage, and insurance markets. Testers receive stipends for completed tests and are recruited via VolunteerMatch. The program has produced thousands of testing investigations over SSHC's 50-year history.
- Down Payment Assistance Programs Financial assistance programs that help income-qualified homebuyers with upfront home purchase costs. Includes the Hazel Crest Down Payment Assistance program for south suburban Illinois and the ICF Northwest Indiana Down Payment Assistance program for Northwest Indiana residents.
- Fair Housing Training & Workshops Group educational training sessions covering Fair Housing law, disability protections, design standards, advertising regulations, familial status protections, and source of income protections. Also covers mortgage distress topics including foreclosure prevention techniques, loan modification, mortgage fraud awareness, and resolution options. Delivered to housing providers, property managers, landlords, advertisers, lenders, insurers, municipalities, and community groups on request.
- Housing Stability Services Counseling and case management services aimed at preventing homelessness and maintaining housing stability for individuals and families in crisis. Includes support for clients navigating Emergency Rental Assistance and Emergency Mortgage Assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing thereafter.
- Homebuyer Education Courses Structured educational courses that prepare prospective first-time homebuyers for the home purchase process, including budgeting, mortgage qualification, the closing process, and ongoing homeownership responsibilities. Required or recommended for many down payment assistance programs.
- Rental Referral Information Referral and information service that connects individuals and families seeking rental housing with available listings in the south suburban Chicago service area. Supports renters using Housing Choice Vouchers and others seeking compliant rental options.
Quantifiable outcome
- Thousands of test investigations conducted over 50 years of operation
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use South Suburban Housing Center
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
South Suburban Housing Center technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
South Suburban Housing Center partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
24 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Enterprise Community PartnerscoreNational nonprofit working to increase housing supply, advance racial equity, and build resilience; award recipient Patricia Fron serves as Director of Rental Assistance
- Illinois Housing Equity CollectivecoreSSHC helped create this collective in 2025 to respond to federal funding uncertainties; initial funding secured through SSHC's efforts
- Robin KellyminorU.S. Representative who shared remarks at the 2025 50th Anniversary Reunion & Reception
- Governors State UniversityminorVenue partner for the 2023 Fair Housing Heroes Reception
- Idlewild Country ClubminorVenue partner for the 2025 50th Anniversary Reunion & Reception and 2026 Keys to Equity Reception
- National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA)coreConsortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations; co-filed Redfin lawsuit and Fannie Mae settlement; SSHC is an organizational member
- Open CommunitiescoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- HOPE Fair Housing CentercoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan DetroitcoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- Fair Housing Justice Center, InccoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- Long Island Housing Services, InccoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- Lexington Fair Housing CouncilcoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing CouncilcoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern PennsylvaniacoreCo-plaintiff in Redfin lawsuit for discriminatory minimum price policy
- National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA)coreLead plaintiff organization in Bank of America federal lawsuit for discriminatory maintenance of foreclosed properties
- HOPE Fair Housing CentercoreCo-plaintiff in Bank of America federal lawsuit for discriminatory maintenance of foreclosed properties
- Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLPcoreNew York-based law firm representing plaintiffs in Redfin federal lawsuit
- MacDonald Hoague & BaylesscoreSeattle-based law firm representing plaintiffs in Redfin federal lawsuit
- Brighton Park Neighborhood CouncilcoreCo-plaintiff in lawsuit against Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios for discriminatory property tax assessment practices
- Logan Square Neighborhood AssociationcoreCo-plaintiff in lawsuit against Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios for discriminatory property tax assessment practices
- HOPE Fair Housing CentercoreCo-plaintiff in Fannie Mae REO case; fair housing organization based in Wheaton, Illinois
- Open CommunitiescoreCo-plaintiff in Fannie Mae REO case; fair housing organization based in Winnetka, Illinois
- ChaseminorPartner for the 2025 Financial Health Series educational workshops
- VolunteerMatchminorOnline platform used to recruit volunteer fair housing testers
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
South Suburban Housing Center competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
South Suburban Housing Center social profiles
Digital presenceSouth Suburban Housing Center financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
South Suburban Housing Center leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
South Suburban Housing Center funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
South Suburban Housing Center M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about South Suburban Housing Center
What does South Suburban Housing Center do?
South Suburban Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers fair housing enforcement investigations and HUD-approved housing counseling services at no charge. Core services include federal, state, and local fair housing discrimination investigations and litigation; HUD-certified mortgage distress counseling, foreclosure prevention, and pre-purchase homebuyer counseling; a trained volunteer fair housing tester program; and fair housing training workshops for housing providers, lenders, insurers, and municipalities. All services are free and primarily serve residents of south suburban Chicago, Kankakee County, and Northwest Indiana.
Is South Suburban Housing Center a public or private company?
South Suburban Housing Center is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was South Suburban Housing Center founded?
South Suburban Housing Center was founded in 1975. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is South Suburban Housing Center based?
South Suburban Housing Center is headquartered in Harwood Heights, United States, in the North America region.
How does South Suburban Housing Center make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations and amazonSmile.
Does South Suburban Housing Center have an API?
No public API is recorded for South Suburban Housing Center.
What industry is South Suburban Housing Center in?
South Suburban Housing Center's product category is Fair Housing & Housing Counseling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAEAL, Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services, with a secondary code of BPAIANAA, Public & Affordable Housing Programs (Subsidies, Vouchers, Public Housing). Its NAICS code is 624229 and its SIC code is 8300.