United Way of Greater New Haven (UWGNH) provides leadership on housing issues critical to our communities, including homelessness, supportive housing, and foreclosure prevention.

 United Way addresses the immediate need of individuals and families who are homeless by supporting local homeless shelters so that they can serve those who have no other place to live.  UWGNH has also helped organize Project Homeless Connect, which offers community resources to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. 

 While offering shelter is important, it is not a permanent solution.  UWGNH also supports programs that move people who are homeless into permanent housing and provides support services to enable them to stay housed.   Local and national research has demonstrated that supportive housing is a solution that works and is cost-effective. 

Goals

1. Increase the number of families and individuals living in safe, affordable and decent housing.

2. Increase access to affordable, supportive housing for families and individuals with special needs and disabilities.

Highlights of Our Work

Grantmaking.  United Way provides grants to local organizations that provide high-quality services that meet community needs.  To help individuals and families achieve financial stability, UWGNH invests in programs that provide housing, from emergency shelters to permanent supportive housing.  Learn more. . .

The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven and United Way of Greater New Haven organized Neighbor to Neighbor LifeLine, a community effort to raise more funds between January and April 2009 to meet immediate, emergency needs in Greater New Haven.  Through Neighbor to Neighbor Lifeline, we were able to invest more than $640,000 in emergency housing, food, and relief needs in our region.  Learn more. . . 

United Way is on the Steering Committee of The Roof (Real Options Overcoming Foreclosure) Project, which works to keep homeowners in their homes, to reduce the financial and personal costs to families where continued homeownership is not possible, and to reduce the negative impact of multiple foreclosures on the neighborhoods of New Haven.  Learn more . . .

United Way participated in Project Homeless Connect in 2007 and 2008, recruiting and training over 150 volunteers and serving as the fiscal agent for the event.  Project Homeless Connect provides a one-day, one-stop-shop services fair for people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness to help connect them to a wide range of services to help them secure housing, medical care, and employment. 

United Way manages the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program for New Haven County, making approximately 1MIL in emergency food and shelter investments possible in our community.  Learn more . . .

Results

United Way invests in programs meeting individual and family housing needs in our communities, including homelessness, the creation of supportive and permanent housing, eviction and foreclosure prevention. United Way investments helps single adults, batter women, pregnant women and women with young children in shelters in New Haven receive the opportunity to access case management, supportive services, and housing subsidies. United Way investments help families who have children in their home or are in the reunification process acquire supportive housing, case management and parent education services) to keep families stable. United Way investments help prevent or end homelessness for families in the greater New Haven area by providing security deposits and first month’s rent to eligible families seeking permanent housing in Branford, East Haven, Hamden, New Haven, North Haven, or West Haven.

 
Result: More families and individuals live in safe, affordable and decent housing.

• Through Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund (GNHCLF) access to financial assistance for developers to create affordable housing; improve access to financial assistance for homeowners to remain in homes that they can afford; provide quality foreclosure prevention (loss mitigation and counseling) services and advocacy to encourage regional and state policymakers to take action to remove barriers to affordable housing is being accomplished.
  • 20 new affordable housing units are being built through new financing from GNHCLF
  • 20 owner occupied housing units were rehabbed through financing from GNHCLF
•  83 families with children moved from homelessness to supportive housing fostering growth and increasing self sufficiency by offering case management services, workshops and training in a safe, supportive environment.
• 57 families with children transitioned from emergency shelters, avoided evictions and moved from homelessness through the assistance with security deposit and first month’s rent payments.  

 
Result: More families and individuals with special needs and disabilities have access to affordable, supportive housing.

•  Through New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA) legal representation for disabled individuals whose housing stability is threatened, to protect their rights and develop appropriate response to prevent homelessness is provided.
  • 49% (48 families) of evictions cases handled by NHLAA were averted
  • Fourteen families facing eviction were able to secure subsidized housing through the legal efforts of NHLAA
• 42 at-risk families where the primary caregiver is diagnosed with a mental illness, substance abuse problem, a cognitive impairment and/or HIV/AIDS enrolled in treatment, acquired support services and housing subsidies keeping families stable.