2026 Fair Housing Month Reception

South Suburban Housing Center celebrated Fair Housing Month 2026 at the Keys to Equity Reception on Wednesday, April 29th, at Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor, IL. Our event brought together 90+ housing industry leaders, community partners, and advocates committed to advancing equitable access to housing opportunity. Each April, we honor the legacy of the Fair Housing Act and recommit ourselves to eliminating discrimination, expanding access, and strengthening communities across the south suburban region.

Together, we hold the keys to building more equitable communities.

Fair Housing Good Trouble Award Recipients
Formerly known as the Fair Housing Achievement Awards

Patricia Fron
Director of Rental Assistance
Enterprise Community Partners

Patricia Fron has been a leading fixture in the Chicago fair housing movement for the last 14 years. Beginning with her fair housing work in 2012 at the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, as their John Lukehart Fellow to the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance (CAFHA), which led to her becoming CAFHA’s second Executive Director from 2015 to 2019. Patricia shared the leadership role as CAFHA’s Co-Executive Director with Gianna Baker from 2019 to March 2025.

Patricia’s groundbreaking fair housing work while at CAFHA included:

  • Conducting research and analyzing data to advance housing and social justice and make recommendations for Cook County’s Fair Housing Equity Assessment, Regional Assessment of Fair Housing Environmental Scan, and Municipal Fair Housing Tiered Compliance Model;
  • Non-profit program and resource development, and implementation skills demonstrated in the creation of CAFHA’s Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Mentoring Program and the Access to Justice Community Navigator Reentry Program; and
  • Community organizing, policy advocacy, and collaborative action talents to pass the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance Source of Income and Just Housing Amendments, and statewide Illinois Human Rights Act source of income protection.

SSHC is especially grateful for Patricia’s efforts to gather Illinois fair housing agencies in 2025, to respond to federal funding uncertainties, leading to the creation and initial funding of the Illinois Housing Equity Collective. Patricia currently serves as the Director of Rental Assistance for Enterprise Community Partners. This national nonprofit works to increase housing supply, advance racial equity, and build resilience and upward mobility.

Debra Bizzell-Wood
Retired Equal Opportunity Specialist & Government Technical Monitor
HUD Region V Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

Debra Bizzell Wood has lived her entire life in Gary, IN. Upon being hired by HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, she was trained to be a Grant Technical Monitor or GTM for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program or FHIP. Debra held this position for 23 years until her retirement in July 2025.

SSHC was fortunate to have Debra assigned as its monitoring GTM for all its FHIP grant projects during her entire career at HUD. She was one of two GTMs who worked out of HUD’s Region V FHEO offices in Chicago that monitored all FHIP grantee organizations in six midwestern states– Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. She had one of the largest grant portfolios assigned for her monitoring of any FHIP GTM in the country. She was extremely detailed, efficient, tough, but fair with her grantees. SSHC honors Debra’s career by presenting her with this award for her courageous Good Trouble actions in furthering SSHC’s and all of the Fair Housing Act’s purposes.

Photo Gallery – Thank you to all who helped us celebrate!