AHCOPA's Housing Counseling Academy is an online, 8-week training program that prepares you to pass the HUD certification exam, the required credential to work as a housing counselor.

Sponsored by the National Housing Resource Center and taught by AHCOPA's own certified, experienced counselors, the Academy gives you the knowledge, practice, and support you need to enter a career that genuinely changes lives.

The 2026 Fall Session is September 22 - November 12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 pm online via zoom.

The cost of the 8-week course is $400. There are scholarship opportunities.

To enroll in the course, you must attend one of the following mandatory orientation sessions:

• Tuesday, September 8, 4-5 pm
• Tuesday, September 15, 4-5 pm

Start your homeownership journey with expert -- and free -- guidance!

You could qualify for thousands in down payment assistance, and we're here to help!

Our HUD-Certified housing counselors will help you budget, understand mortgage terms, and access down payment assistance!

• Saturday, September 12, 10 am - 2 pm
• Saturday, September 19, 10 am - 2 pm
• En español: sábado 26 de septiembre, de 10 am a 2 pm

If you've done the hard work of buying a house, don't cheat your future or your loved ones... write a will!

AHCOPA works with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia to help people right their wills for free. We want to make sure that the legacy you've worked so hard to build gets passed down the way you want!

We'll answer your questions and teach you everything you need to know about how to write:

• Last Living Will and Testament
• Advanced Healthcare Directive
• Power of Attorney

These three documents are critical to make sure your home is properly passed down and that your wishes are honored!

September Will Workshops



• Southwest Senior Center: Wednesday, September 16
   11:00 am to 12:30 pm
• Veterans Multi-Service Women's Center: Tuesday, September 22 
  11:00 am - 12:30 pm
• Wednesday, September 23, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Online
• Veterans Multi-Service Center: Wednesday, September 30 
  10:00 am - 11:30 am

How Cities are Managing Rising Rent

Rent prices and how to deal with them have been a hot-button topic of conversation lately.

As Philadelphia moves to make a historic investment in housing and homeownership, it is important to understand and remember that renters also need certain protections and aid.

In our newest blog, we summarize the most common rental assistance programs and discuss steps Philadelphia has taken in the past to try to implement them.

AHCOPA's New Website is Live!

Click through this newsletter to connect to AHCOPA's new website!

Explore our new pages, which are easy to navigate and allow our clients to register for workshops directly on our site.

We worked with Spacious on the new site for the past several months, and we are very excited about the results! 
Let us know what you think!

Farewell Sarah Kellogg

This month AHCOPA is saying goodbye to our Communications Director of the past 5 years: Sarah Kellogg.

Sarah has been writing these newsletters, designing fliers, going to outreach events, and running our social media accounts. As one of her final projects at AHCOPA, Sarah led our organization through a rebrand and the launch of our new website. We are grateful for the contributions Sarah has made to the organization, and we will miss her! But we are excited for her next endeavor.

In September we will welcome our new Director of Communications to the tune, stay tuned!