Through community organizing and tenant engagement, KOCO maintains the affordability of more than 1,500 units of housing, and works to ensure quality living conditions for its residents.

Low-income and working families in the Kenwood and Oakland communities struggle to maintain the delicate balance between their housing costs and all of their other expenses. Affordable housing, as such, is one of the most important quality-of-life issues in our community.

The threat of losing the limited amount of remaining affordable housing looms overhead. Unfortunately, no one anticipated the loss of more than 2,000 units of housing over the past 15 years; and KOCO is working with community leaders to make sure our community retains what remains of our affordable housing. KOCO’s organizing work is exhibited through the following strategies:

• Organize tenant councils in buildings that were financed with low-income housing tax credits and Section 8 funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to preserve affordable housing units there;
• Develop the leadership and organizational skills of the tenant council leaders and residents through community organizing efforts;
• Create affordable housing policies and preserve affordable housing units through participating in city-wide affordable housing coalitions; and
• Maintain ongoing communication with elected officials, policy makers, and building management/owners regarding affordability and issues affecting tenants’ quality of life.

KOCO created the Mid South Education Association (MSEA) with the help of local school council members, parents, educators, and youth in order to ensure equitable educational opportunities for children in the Mid South area of Chicago. The MSEA facilitates community involvement in schools by providing trainings for local school councils and parent advisory councils, and addresses critical education issues, such as school closings and devolution of community input in the school environment.

Local School Councils (LSCs) in the Mid South area were galvanized in opposition to the “Mid South Plan” and Renaissance 2010, which proposed the closure of 20 of 22 area schools. The organization of the LSCs and concerned residents saved nearly all of the proposed schools from being closed. KOCO was also the convening group for the Chicago Local School Council Task Force, which developed HJR0071, a resolution sponsored by Illinois State Representative Esther Golar to strengthen LSCs and convene subject matter hearings regarding support for LSCs. LSCs are the democratically-elected decision-making body for Illinois public schools.