S:US Receives Grant to Expand Eviction Prevention Services
Photo: David Nieto/Unsplash
We’re honored that Services for the UnderServed (S:US) has been named a recipient of the 15th Annual Housing for Everyone grant program from the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank.
The TD Charitable Foundation awarded $4.9 million to 32 local housing nonprofit organizations to provide direct relief and supportive services to keep renters in their affordable units in the wake of the economic instability caused by COVID-19. According to the National Council of State Housing Agencies, up to 34 million people who rent are at risk of losing their homes when eviction moratoriums and other renter protections expire.
“Given the urgent need for rent relief, the TD Charitable Foundation increased the total monetary amount of grants by 30%, from $3.75 million up to $4.9 million this year,” said Paige Carlson-Heim, Director of the TD Charitable Foundation. “TD Bank represents one of the first financial institutions working to support affordable housing efforts for families and individuals who rent. We increased our support, given the extra burden created by the pandemic and scarcity of other corporate funders,” said Carlson-Heim.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had an immense and disproportionate impact on those most vulnerable, including renters and that’s why the 2020 Housing for Everyone program focused on organizations working to keep families and individuals who rent in their homes.
With these funds, S:US will expand our eviction prevention efforts to help vulnerable tenants stay in their homes in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, through connections to services and financial resources including rent relief. S:US has provided eviction prevention services to households in Manhattan through our Homebase program since 2004. Homebase provides anti-eviction services to solve immediate housing crises, divert individuals at risk from the shelter system, and address other issues that place individuals at greatest risk for homelessness.
Homebase currently serves 2,500 households per year. But the number of households facing homelessness in New York City is greater than that and growing during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. We will expand our support to people who are currently feeling the impact of the pandemic on their housing situation and not able to access current government subsidies: individuals who lost employment during the pandemic and are now facing eviction, seniors whose fixed income was stretched during the pandemic and now are in rent arrears, and families who are in rent arrears but not yet in housing court.
We believe that housing is at the core of everything. Without the stability of a home, families cannot stay together, people cannot find employment, challenges completely overwhelm and life quickly spirals out of control. We’re proud to partner with TD Charitable Foundation and thankful for this critical support for New Yorkers who are at risk of losing their homes.
Read the TD Charitable Foundation grant announcement here.