2,240 families are thanking you this Thanksgiving
Later this month, when 2,240 NYC families sit down for their Thanksgiving dinner at their own tables in their own homes, they will be giving thanks to you. They understand that because of you (and the rest of our community of supporters), The Partnership was able to expand its impact by 80% this past year, intervening to prevent them from losing their homes and ending up in shelters or on the streets. Thank you!
Our programs – rental arrears payments, benefits support, rapid rehousing, counseling, casework and training – were available to the 5,600 New Yorkers living in these homes because people like you have the compassion and ingenuity to understand the meaning of home and to recognize that supporting upstream interventions is the most humanitarian and cost-effective way to prevent (thus, solve) homelessness.
Saving their homes is just the introduction of the change you made for these New Yorkers. By ensuring they do not experience homelessness, you have gifted them a different life trajectory. Losing a home and going into shelter can translate to families being displaced from their communities and friends, disrupted work and school attendance, job loss, not graduating, ill-health and difficulty finding a new home (if they have an eviction record).
Instead of a life defined by this traumatic instability – one with an ensuing downward spiral of intergenerational poverty, insecurity and hypervigilance – these 5,600 New Yorkers can leverage their homes as the safe base that makes it possible to sleep, make and share food, go to school and work, have fun, imagine, dream and develop. Put simply, as it is for all of us, home is the place where they can be.
Teja’s Story
At home in central Brooklyn is the place where Teja (44 years old), and her children Isa (16) and Jayden (12) are grateful to be. When Teja first came to The Partnership, on the advice of a woman she met while in housing court, she was feeling crushed under the stress of facing an eviction and the related worry about her children losing their home and ending up in a shelter. She was terrified that Isa, who was aware of the situation and had started talking about leaving school to get a job, would end up dropping her studies and the basketball games she loved so much, losing out on the college path she had been working hard to achieve, and that Jayden’s health and security would be irreparably damaged in the turmoil of experiencing homelessness.
Teja could hardly believe the family’s future was looking so bleak when just a year earlier they had felt so secure; although their household income left little for extras, Teja’s hospital administrative role combined with her partner’s income had given them enough to cover the rent and household expenses as well as juggle their schedules to take their son, who is living with a disability, to medical appointments and pay for medications not fully covered by insurance.
The first hint of difficulty crept in with the death of Teja’s grandmother who had raised her; the family fell behind on bills as Teja chipped in with other family members to cover the funeral costs. While they were still recovering from that setback, her partner left the home and relationship suddenly, leaving Teja and the children to fend for themselves. The emotional trauma was exacerbated by the immediate loss of household income, both the loss of her partner’s income and a portion of Teja’s income when she needed to reduce her schedule to manage her son’s medical needs. Teja fell further behind on bills as she prioritized paying for her son’s medication and when the next rent day cycled around and Teja discovered that her partner had been hiding that he had not been making all the rent payments over the previous year, the last fragment of her sense of security unraveled. As the letters threatening court and eviction started to arrive, the very sight of her mailbox began to make her panic.
By the time Teja first spoke to a member of the housing team at The Partnership, she had lost hope and was in survival mode. Despite her efforts to keep her family safe, the government assistance for which she had applied was still pending and did not look like it would come through in time to stop the eviction, and she was worried that she would lose her job if she went into shelter and could not juggle her son’s schedule and commute with her own. The team immediately got to work, giving Teja support to navigate the government benefits system to secure the arrears assistance for which the family qualified and to simultaneously work with the landlord and court system to stop the eviction. Additionally, with our counseling support and a $5,260 arrears grant to bring her rent to balance, she was able to secure her home and focus on rebuilding her family’s security. Her children finished the school year and were able to keep their summer sports and study plans with friends. Jayden is now doing well in his final year of middle school and Teja has more family support to escort him to medical appointments. Isa is working toward a college scholarship, all thoughts of leaving school a distant memory. Teja has stabilized her work schedule and after dinner each evening, she enjoys spending time researching options for her children’s ongoing education paths and futures. Teja has continued with counseling to process the trauma she lived through this last year and feels that for the first time she has the space and safety to grieve her relationship breakup and the loss of her grandmother.
Teja’s renewed hope and ability to keep her children healthy, safe and planning for the future is replicated in the 2,240 other families whose homes you saved this past year.
That partnership, the one that directly connects you and the lives of our clients, is the heart of our work. You are the person who recognizes the meaning of home and that the families’ crises are temporary, could happen to many of us and are best addressed by stepping in before disaster hits. Our job at The Partnership is to work steadily every day to realize your vision of a city in which our collective society protects families’ homes and ensures all NYC children have a safe bed to sleep in every night and a safe foundation from which to grow. We are proud to work on your behalf, and on behalf of your fellow supporters, to realize your hope for what our city can be, including supporters like Niall O’Neill:
“Over two decades ago, I was a newcomer to NYC and I am grateful that I have always had a roof over my head and somewhere to call home in this city. However, I am conscious that so many of us New Yorkers are just one unfortunate event beyond our control from housing insecurity. It could be illness, loss of employment, unforeseen financial burdens, or changes in domestic and family circumstances. My own mother was widowed when I was a two-year-old child and she raised my brother and me in a single parent household during some very troubled times where I grew up. Although the specter of financial insecurity always loomed in the background, and while we did not have much as kids, my mother worked hard to ensure we had the essentials in life, a solid education, and a loving and safe home. I have had friends and family to support me through difficult times, but I am aware that not everyone in this city is so fortunate and some may have nobody to rely upon in an emergency. I am a firm believer that timely intervention to prevent homelessness is crucial to providing a stable family life and safeguarding the future for children. I understand that even a modest financial contribution to The Partnership can make a meaningful difference to someone who is struggling to hold on to dependable accommodation. And, as the saying goes, prevention is always better than cure.”
As you celebrate Thanksgiving, I encourage you to pause to acknowledge the home and safety you have made possible for thousands of New Yorkers this holiday. Take a moment by yourself or with friends/family to reflect on the meaning of home for you and add your thoughts to the community of clients, staff and supporters who are telling us what home means to them this year.
And, if you can, when you organize your year-end giving, please include a gift to The Partnership. Today, more than one in 5 children live in NYC homes in arrears and are at risk of homelessness. We would be honored to work again on your behalf in 2025 to ensure more families retain the secure base of a home, the place from which they too can be.
Thank you for preventing homelessness. Happy Thanksgiving to you and all in your home!