Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD) is a county-wide initiative providing free legal assistance to residents facing eviction, foreclosure, consumer debt, and tax deed issues. Through two major programs, they offer comprehensive support to renters, landlords, homeowners, and anyone dealing with debt challenges. All services are available to Cook County residents regardless of income, language, or immigration status.

Northwest Center offers free group workshops and individual counseling to explore the home-buying process, build your credit, and close the deal.The in-person First-Time Homebuyer Workshop is a two-part group course that outlines the entire buying process, from building your credit to getting that first set of keys. The online class costs $100.

Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation is a host site not-for-profit intermediary for the MyHome by Freddie Mac, a program designed to revitalize urban neighborhoods that are still struggling to recover from the economic crisis. It is intended to demonstrate that a holistic, collaborative plan involving local government, housing industry partners, nonprofit organizations and the tools and resources of a prominent secondary market solution provider can help facilitate sustainable neighborhood recovery. Freddie Mac developed CreditSmart®, a multilingual financial education curriculum and consumer outreach initiative designed to help consumers build and maintain better credit, make sound financial decisions, and understand the steps to sustainable homeownership. CreditSmart increases consumers' financial understanding by teaching life-long money management skills and showing consumers how to avoid foreclosure and keep their home.