Who We Are
Founded in 2003, the Northwest Center identifies and responds to the needs of the community by leveraging resources to improve the economic well-being and quality of life in Belmont Cragin and the surrounding communities.
Through housing counseling, financial literacy programs, and community activism, we’ve helped thousands of families on Chicago’s northwest side keep their homes, create financial opportunities, and grow as organizers and leaders.
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Our founding principle and the core of our mission is responsiveness to community needs. From urgent Covid-19 relief to organizing around critical neighborhood issues, we respond with agility, dedication, and open hearts.
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Strong relationships advance and enhance our work. From individual housing counseling, to financial coaching, to workforce development, we forge deep personal connections and prioritize one-on-one interactions with our clients.
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Residents steer our work and comprise our board and staff. Clients and community members often go on to take leadership roles within the organization, ensuring that community needs and input remain at the forefront of our work.
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Innovative programs drive our work, connecting community members with people and resources they need. Our robust community organizing initiatives—backed by a keen understanding of current events and legislation—empower residents to drive change.
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We use data from the community to plan and inform all of our work. Our programs address the needs of the community as validated through collected evidence and feedback, ensuring that our expertise consistently aligns with everything we do.
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Our work affirmatively seeks to reduce racial inequity through building the power of residents who, as a result of systemic oppression and racism, face pressing issues and a lack of resources on Chicago's Northwest Side. In particular, NWC's programs and organizing campaigns prioritize work with residents who are part of historically marginalized communities such as Black, Latinx, undocumented, and low-income residents, and who are located primarily in Belmont Cragin.
Our Story
We’ve since expanded beyond housing to meet the evolving needs of our community, and have grown from one part-time staff member in 2003 to a team of 40. And in 2021, we rebranded ourselves as the Northwest Center—a name that no longer limits our reach to just housing, but still pays homage to our home in this corner of the city.
The Northwest Center (formerly the Northwest Side Housing Center) began as an anti-predatory lending task force in response to the increase in foreclosures leading up to the 2008 housing crisis.
Under the wing of the Northwest Neighborhood Federation and our founder Reverend Christine Schrey, we became the only established platform for housing counseling and community organizing on Chicago’s northwest side.
Support Our Mission
See where every dollar goes. View our annual report and financial statements.
We can’t respond to the needs of the community without the generosity of our funders and individual supporters.