NAZARETH HOUSING INC
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Mission Statement
NH operates two buildings in the Lower East Side and one building in Harlem, containing in total forty (40) units of permanent housing and forty-six (46) units of emergency family shelter. In 2006, NH initiated its Housing Stability Support Program to address the growing demand of households seeking assistance related to housing but not yet in need of emergency shelter. Activities include: needs assessment; emergency assistance for rent and utility arrears; counseling and advocacy in the areas of housing, budgeting, employment searches, credit repair, debt reduction, and more; referral services; and ongoing case management. Through Louise's Pantry, NH offers food and other urgent needs assistance. NH's MoneyLab provides free tax preparation, financial coaching, credit repair, and debt reduction. NH's LifeLab programs cover computer skills, financial literacy, youth engagement, HUD certified housing counseling, financial literacy workshops, job readiness training and more.
About This Cause
Homelessness Prevention and Supportive Housing NH operates forty (40) units of low-income supportive housing — capped-rent apartments for all family compositions, including individuals. Tenants have affordable apartments and easy access to whatever help they need to stay housed and healthy. They pay one-third of their income toward rent and get both a roof over their heads and on-site access to a support network of professionals to help them overcome the challenges that left them homeless. As a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency, NH predominately serves households at risk of homelessness due to loss of work, underemployment, or arrears issues stemming from a variety of socio-economic barriers. In 2006, NH initiated its Housing Stability Support Project (HSSP) to address the growing demand of households seeking assistance related to housing but not yet in need of emergency shelter — a project integrally tied with NH’s supportive housing program. HSSP’s strength-based approach, paired with professional staff members’ personal investment in the ongoing well-being and stability of participating families, helps to ensure the project’s success. Included in the HSSP scope of offerings are the following: -Needs Assessment for households presenting barriers to stable housing -Emergency Assistance for rent and utility arrears or unexpected urgent family needs that threaten housing stability -Counseling and Advocacy provided by multilingual staff in the areas of housing, budgeting, employment searches, credit repair, debt reduction, and more -Referrals to services offered through NH programming or to the appropriate social service, government, or community-based organization that can help address the family’s needs -Ongoing Case Management for formerly homeless families that transition to safe, permanent housing, helping to ensure the retention of their housing and stability of their families; Check-ins are conducted every 6, 12, and 18 months with former clients after exiting from NH services HSSP has assisted 54,000 New Yorkers keep their housing over the past 8 years. During the 2014 contract cycle with STEHP through OTDA, NH provided homelessness and eviction prevention services to 5,084 clients — 324% more than it was contracted to serve. Also integral to a comprehensive homelessness prevention approach, NH’s LifeLab program is designed to help individuals build skills and access resources, strengthening their household’s capacity to retain suitable housing and gain financial independence. Hosted at NH’s Center for Learning and Self-Sufficiency (CLASS) — the hub for all Outreach and Prevention activities — LifeLab provides a wide array of services for the benefit of residents and community members alike. Included in the scope of services are: MoneyLab (the all-inclusive financial leg of LifeLab), family advancement and wellness workshops, youth programming, and housing counseling seminars. NH’s primary goal is to provide families with the encouragement and resources necessary to develop positive coping mechanisms and self-sufficiency skills. Emergency Family Shelter NH operates forty-six (46) units of emergency family shelter — rent-free apartments for women with dependent children. Shelter services are a critical grounding factor for families that have lost their housing and face compounding barriers to housing stability. NH’s shelter program aligns with and consistently exceeds the move-out goals set forth by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). NH meets an internal goal of operating at 100% capacity among the shelter sites. At NH, the objective is not to simply move individuals out of shelter, but to prevent recidivism in the face of a shelter system which “churns” individuals in and out. NH works to empower families, transition families into permanent housing, and assist families in retaining that housing. With a thirty-one year proven track record, NH implements a well-developed approach to stabilize and strengthen families recovering from the multiple losses and traumas of homelessness. Urgent Needs Assistance In 2013, NH opened Louise’s Pantry @ Nazareth Housing, a robust food security program. Louise’s Pantry distributes household items and on average 40 bags of nutritious groceries (containing 27 meals each) every month to low-income families and seniors. In line with NH’s “more than food” approach, each pantry participant receives a full intake and is screened for domestic violence, potential health benefits, entitlements, causes of housing insecurity, and more. Out on the streets of New York, NH runs the unique Furniture Donation Service (FDS), a free program that provides no-cost delivery of donated furniture and household items to low-income families that would not otherwise be able to afford them. In a tremendous demonstration of community partnership, The Lower East Side Long Term Recovery Group (LESReady!) was born out of the recovery work following Superstorm Sandy. NH Executive Director Michael Callaghan and three members of NH’s Outreach and Prevention team have joined forces with community entities to form the group and, through it, bring resources in planning and long-term recovery to neighbors in need. Thirty (30) local and city-wide community organizations and businesses work alongside government bodies in order to reflect on recent disasters and shape a plan for the future. NH staff regularly participates in LESReady! meetings and the NH communications team is currently managing the LESReady! website, social media, and print media. Demographics The households NH serves are very low- and extremely low-income, as defined by the standards set forth through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Often the individuals NH serves are part of or come from immigrant communities with underdeveloped economic footholds. Many have grown up with chronic housing instability and multi-generational poverty, facing a broad array of socio-economic barriers which obstruct upward financial mobility or housing security. NH predominately serves households at risk of homelessness due to loss of work, underemployment, or arrears issues stemming from a variety of socio-economic barriers The following breakdown applies to the population served by NH in Fiscal Year 2014 (July 2013 – June 2014): 39% of clients served are children — 10% of clients are under 5 years old, 21% are ages 6 to 12, 8% are ages 13 to 17; 12% of clients are elderly; 45% of all households NH assists are run by female single head of households; 68% of clients have a high school diploma/GED or higher education; 32% do not have a high school diploma; 43% of households contain at least one individual employed; 26% of clients are chronically homeless; 17% of clients are domestic violence survivors; 8%, 11%, and 14% of clients have a developmental, physical, or other disability respectively. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of NH clients earn below 30% of the Area Median Income. Put in monetary terms, these households earn between $17,650 (for a single individual) and $25,150 (for a family of four) each year, considered extremely low- income by HUD standards. Twenty-one percent (21%) of clients receive Public Assistance (cash assistance through Temporary Aid to Needy Families or through Safety Net Program), 20% receive Social Security Income (SSI) benefits, 12% receive Unemployment Benefits, and 4% receive other benefits such as pension, child support, food stamps, or Medicaid. Recent Major Accomplishments -NH assisted 6,723 unduplicated individuals in FY14. -NH is on the horizon of a merger with Thorpe Family Residence (TFR), a process which will preserve twenty (20) units of supportive housing for families and sixteen (16) units of shelter for women and children, along with a highly successful food pantry which feeds 115 Bronx families a week. Capital and interior upgrades repairs are underway at TFR supportive housing and shelter sites. -NH helped to found and is currently managing communications for LESReady!, working together to advance disaster preparedness. -NH’s MoneyLab program returned $742,705 in tax returns and in EITCs through 482 filings for low-income families in NYC during the 2014 tax season. -LP@NH distributed bags of nutritious groceries to 665 low-income individuals in FY14. -HSSP stabilized housing and prevented homelessness for 1,195 families (4,233 individuals) in FY14. -From November 2013 through October 2014, NH provided intensive eviction services to 762 families, of which, 761 retained their housing and one was re-housed. All avoided entering the shelter system. -From September 2013 through August 2014, NH provided 29 caches of household items and 180 pieces of furniture to 69 very-low-income households, seniors, and domestic violence survivors through FDS. -NH placed 145% of annual target of homeless families into safe, permanent housing in FY14 and 220% of target of homeless families in FY13, despite shrinking availability of affordable housing.