#GiveToGain Housing Stability: International Women’s Day 2026
Since its 1911 debut, International Women’s Day’s (IWD) celebration of gender equality and women’s achievement has existed alongside its emphatic calls to us all to take action to remedy gender-based discrimination, systemic disadvantage and violence. IWD’s theme this year is Give To Gain, a reminder of how pivotal generosity and collective action have been to women’s increased participation in society, from the workforce to public office.
What would you give for women, and particularly women of color, to gain housing stability?
This is a question we at The Partnership To End Homelessness pose every day. We know that homelessness is primarily a story about women and children of color, disproportionately experiencing the impact of domestic violence, evictions and overcrowding in a city with insufficient housing assistance.
Through our prevention-based approach, we give the promise of stability in the present. Last year, your partnership saved 2,000 New York City households from eviction, 83% of which were headed by women. When The Partnership steps in to prevent a family’s home from being lost, women are able to increase their stability by retaining their jobs. Their children are able to stay in school and avoid the kinds of emotional and academic disruptions that make intergenerational homelessness more likely.
When we give rental arrears assistance, in the form of financial payments directly to landlords, we ensure that women-led households avoid shelter stays. Arrears average $3,500, whereas a shelter stay can be as much as $100,000 annually. Keeping a family in its home is good for landlords and good for a city with close to 90K people in shelter, including 30K children. Last year, The Partnership’s efforts, with your support, saved the equivalent of more than half a billion in public spending on shelter.
We give mental health and well-being support to clients that is both culturally competent and wide-ranging, including issues from sexual trauma to parenting to tenant’s rights and responsibilities. Case management and referrals to primary and mental health providers can address the lingering impact of chronic trauma, including the stress endemic to long-term economic and housing instability.
We recently shared the story of one client, Safara, who was able to continue living in and contributing to the community she has lived in for 20 years.
As we transition from commemorating Black History Month to Women’s History Month, The Partnership is highlighting how much women of color bear the brunt of housing instability in New York City. These vulnerable households are made more so by sharp cost of living increases to food and rent and steep decreases in income and government-based support.
Please consider making a donation in their honor.