Safara’s Story

Safara described the joy of moving into a modest one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn 20 years ago: “although it was not much, it was mine.” Her passion for baking regularly warmed up the small space, filling it with the smell of flour, sugar and spices. As she has said, home is “my temple,” adorned with well-worn pans and baking sheets, and red quilted oven mitts shaped like hearts.

For the first 14 years she lived in the apartment, Safara’s neighbors, the rhythm of the block and the little grocery store on the corner became an extension of her small home. Neighbors became friends and the community embraced her like family as the natural cycles of life played out for them all. Safara felt lucky to find work at the grocery store and she was able to pick up shifts as a waiter at a local restaurant. She earned a modest income – around $1,200 a month – which was just enough to cover her $1,000 rent and basic living expenses. In her eyes, it was a good life. 

Then, like many New Yorkers, key pillars in Safara’s world gave way abruptly in 2020 and left her in a perilous financial downslide. She lost both of her jobs when the grocery store closed and the restaurant cut most of its staff in response to stay-at-home orders from the City and State. Suddenly, she found herself without an income in the middle of a global pandemic.

It was a perilous time, and Safara’s resilience went into overdrive. Initially, she covered expenses by using her small amount of savings and asking for assistance from family in Miami. As those resources dwindled and rent and other bills began to pile up, Safara fought against the feeling that she was sinking into an unrecoverable financial hole. She picked up dog walking gigs in the neighborhood and used her baking skills to sell homemade desserts. Sometimes she could pull together enough money streams to keep pace with current bills, and sometimes not. Her income was never large enough to cover missed rent payments.

This type of job (and financial) insecurity shape Safara’s experience for several years. Seeking work as a waiter, for which she is most qualified, led to several full-time waitstaff positions that came and went as the restaurants closed or cut staff unexpectedly. She took on part-time jobs as a cashier and a tutor to supplement uneven wait shifts at various restaurants. She even took a free course to earn a baking certification and license, in the hopes of starting her own business. The looming costs of rent and other bills put this dream out of reach as Safara continued to look for steady work.

When Safara came to The Partnership, her arrears loomed large and she faced eviction. After years of piecing together gig work, she had become a full-time cashier at a coffee shop owned by one of her new friends from church. It was the most stable job she had in years, and it would allow her to keep up with her current bills. The previous months of rental arrears continued to follow her, however, and she was hoping that The Partnership could offer a solution.

When staff talked through the situation with Safara, she mentioned that she has always had a good relationship with her landlord. The Partnership is committed to working with landlords, viewing them as an important facet of the overall effort to decrease housing instability. Staff opened a dialogue with the landlord by emphasizing the goal of a positive outcome for everyone involved – namely, for Safara to remain safely housed and for the landlord to be able to collect the rent. Staff also expressed appreciation for the landlord’s willingness to work collaboratively to reach these goals. Through this advocacy, the landlord agreed to reduce her arrears by $2,000. Given that Safara has lived in the apartment for 20 years as a consistent and conscientious tenant, the landlord did not want her to leave any more than she did.

Since the pandemic, Safara has weathered layoffs, job closures, loss and uncertainty, while building community, faith and resilience. Through it all, she has held onto hope, with a bit of extra love for the sweet aroma of her Brooklyn apartment that now feels emblematic of safety and her endurance.