The Bridge Fund of New York City

The terrible human and societal costs associated with homelessness prompted the design and implementation of The Bridge Fund model in Westchester in 1991, and a year later in New York City. What was true then is still true today: prevention is the best cure for homelessness. In fact, for a fraction of the cost to taxpayers of maintaining a family in the municipal shelter system, estimated to be as much as $36,000 annually, The Bridge Fund provides hope and possibility by offering compassionate listening, information and referral, budget counseling, advocacy, and financial assistance (mostly interest-free loans) to pay rental or mortgage arrears that threaten eviction or foreclosure.

Aiding us in our work are our very own clients. Through repayment of their Bridge Fund loans and voluntary contributions, former clients like Lenore B. enable the program to help the greatest number of needy families and individuals. Through her example and that of others, staff learns much about the issues that matter most to clients. These include safe and affordable housing, quality health care and economic opportunities for a brighter future for themselves and their children. But it is because of their courage and words of gratitude that staff members are

inspired every day to do their utmost to help Bridge Fund clients surmount seemingly impossible odds and to reflect on the accomplishments of the program and how it can better meet emerging needs, particularly in light of our country’s recent economic downturn.

The Need for Bridge Fund Services

The lack of affordable housing continues to be a persistent problem in New York City. This and other factors account for why so many hard-working New Yorkers seek Bridge Fund services. Modifications to the state’s rent stabilization laws have made it easier for private landlords to increase rents as much as 20% or more upon re-letting. Because apartments with monthly rents of $2,000 may cease to be rent stabilized, some landlords in New York City aggressively pursue legal action against tenants to more quickly “flip” apartments and legally charge market rent.

The supply of subsidized housing for low- and moderate-income households is also dwindling, as private owners seek higher profits outside such programs as Mitchell-Lama and project-based Section 8. In fact, since 1990, a total of 26,253 Mitchell-Lama rentals have been lost in New York City and more losses are expected. Labor statistics show that, while the national unemployment rate dropped from 5.9% to 5.8% in September 2007, in New York City it actually rose from 7.2% to 8.2%. And while many still feel that the city has remained insulated from the national foreclosure crisis, nothing can be further from the truth. In 2007, nearly 15,000 motions, or 6,000 more than the year before, were filed against homeowners unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. Sixty percent were on homes and buildings with at least two or more rental units. As a result, the Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy of New York University estimates, conservatively, that more than 30,000 renter and owner households, or some 38,000 New Yorkers, face losing their housing, mostly in Queens and Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Expansion

With the support of the Oak Foundation, Bank of America, Independence Community Foundation, and Robin Hood, The Bridge Fund, in June 2007, extended services to Brooklyn, one of the poorest and most populous boroughs of New York City. During the last seven months of 2007, the demand for services from Brooklyn residents was such that referrals had to be restricted to a handful of social service agencies that could quickly partner with The Bridge Fund to cover our client’s rental arrears. Nevertheless, the level of activity experienced by our Brooklyn Program surpassed that of Staten Island and almost equaled that of our Queens Program for all of 2007. In total, The Bridge Fund of New York City provided a combination of services and $545,899 in loans and grants to 317 households so they could hold on to their affordable apartments or secure new ones. Of this amount, $79,632 was provided to 48 Brooklyn families, containing 64 adults, 2 seniors and 56 children.

The Bridge Fund also tapped into its extensive referral network to leverage an additional $228,418 for the above-noted 317 client-households, which include the 48 families served by its Brooklyn Program. These 317 households and many more who asked for but did not receive financial assistance benefited from one or more of our other services: information and referral, benefits assessment and advocacy, plus budget counseling.

Rent Subsidy Project for Pre-Retirement Workers

The Bridge Fund is committed to helping ensure that all hard-working families and individuals can call New York home, including aging workers and senior citizens who have given so much to make our city great. To that end, the program secured generous funding from the Oak Foundation to implement its Rent Subsidy Project for Pre-Retirement Workers. Individuals served by this three-year pilot program receive modest, short-term rent subsidies that can be treated as interest-free loans to be repaid upon receipt of retirement income deemed sufficient to ensure client independence from the project. The average rent subsidy is $150 per month. All checks are made payable to landlords or their management agents. The loan repayment amount, if any, is based on the client’s income and expenses. For some, this could be as little as $5 a month.

During 2007, of the client households requesting services under the Rent Subsidy Project, Elizabeth V. and her husband Hector R. of The Bronx, met our criteria for eligibility. Please read their story.

It goes without saying that the program expects to serve more clients in 2008 and that it embraces and promotes the concept of active aging, which for many means continued gainful employment, life-long learning, and civic engagement. It is expected that most of the clients of the Rent Subsidy Project will need and want to continue working while receiving Social Security retirement benefits, which they are allowed to do under the Right to Work Act of 2000.

Measuring Success

Since its inception, The Bridge Fund has monitored clients six months and one year after providing financial assistance. We do this to ascertain their long-term housing stability and the effectiveness of The Bridge Fund model in preventing homelessness among the working poor. At the request of some of our funders, in 2004, the program also began offering 2 year-extended monitoring services. These monitoring efforts include calls to home and work numbers, letters, and reviews of loan repayment histories. We are proud to report that consistently at least 93% of the clients we monitor at their one-year milestone are still in their homes. The same can be said for 87% of the clients monitored two years after our initial intervention. Clients of the Rent Subsidy Project for Pre-Retirement Workers will be monitored even more closely, as they will be in touch with Bridge Fund staff each month while receiving a rent subsidy.

Of course, there are other ways to measure success, such as by the generosity and encouragement of our stakeholders. We, therefore, wish to publicly thank all our funders for enabling the staff of The Bridge Fund of New York City to do the work we love.

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In NYC, our average assistance is $1,320 per household.

Our clients pay 39% of their net income on rent

Of our clients, 42% are children.

Client Demographics:

• 55% African/American
• 31% Hispanic
• 13% Caucasian
• 1% Asian

Advisory Committee

Gregory Floyd
President, City Employees Union Local 237

Angela Hollis, MBA
President Hollis Group, LLC; Formerly Director of Advancement, New York City Mission Society

Pritpal Kochbar
Property Management

Douglass Seidman
Attorney, The Legal Aid Society

Wingson Wong
Coordinator of Community Relations, Division of Institutional Advancement, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Erika Wood
Attorney, New York University Law School