Last Updated: Oct 13th, 2022
Praxis Collaborative Chicago provides affordable shared housing in Chicago’s diverse Uptown neighborhood to individuals and families involved in movement building, social service work, and nonprofit work across a range of left leaning ideologies, from liberal to socialist to anarchist, creating a center-left Popular Front. Praxis is composed of a diverse group of people from various racial, ethnic, religious, generational, and national backgrounds.
Praxis is a not-for-profit housing organization, which means that Praxis exists to serve its mission and not to make a profit for anyone. Praxis is governed by a board of directors composed of individuals dedicated to social justice including, but not limited to, former and current members of Praxis.
Residents share a single suite with separate bedrooms but shared hallways, bathrooms, kitchens, and other common areas. See The Space.
Mission
Praxis exists to provide comfortable, affordable housing to people and families who work, volunteer, or study in fields that advance social justice through movement building, advocacy, or providing services directly benefiting communities, such as organizing, healthcare, social services, education, and law.
Examples include labor and political organizers, social service professionals, professors, educators, healthcare workers, lawyers, authors, AmeriCorps participants, employees and directors of social-benefit nonprofits, students, and more.
Praxis recognizes that people working to improve the lives of others are often underpaid, making rent unaffordable, particularly in gentrifying neighborhoods like Uptown.
Why live at Praxis?
Although we focus on affordability, we do not have income limits and some people live at Praxis to take advantage of other aspects of shared housing, such as the convenience of communal groceries and sharing some cooking and cleaning labor. People working from home may enjoy Praxis’ shared office space and many common areas, which can provide a more private place to work when required. Others enjoy spending time with people who hold diverse perspectives under a broad center-left umbrella.
To learn more about why people live at Praxis, check out Is Praxis Right for Me?
Residency and Administration
Praxis has two basic levels of residency:
- General Residents who take a less labor-intensive role in house management. Most tenants of Praxis are General Residents.
- House Members who make collective decisions on matters such as budgeting, house safety and security, and admitting new Residents. Becoming a Member is a year-long process.
Member Meetings
The house is self-managed by its Members. House members meet twice monthly, using a “Radical Consensus” (majority-present, block-based consensus) decision-making process. Meetings include issues such as budgeting, house safety and security, and admitting new residents.
All-House Meetings
Once every two months, an All-House Meetings is held for all Residents to share feedback and participate in decisions on matters such as house and improvement and residency policies.
Interested?
Want to try living at Praxis as a Resident? Learn more about applying.
Praxis Collaborative 