Project Parachute Aims to Help Vulnerable New Yorkers Keep Their Homes

NYC property owners have contributed $4 million to an initiative that targets residents hard hit by COVID-19.

A coalition of more than 40 leading owners of affordable and market-rate apartment buildings, nonprofits, and service providers has launched “Project Parachute” to help keep vulnerable New Yorkers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in their homes.

Seeded with a $4 million investment from property owners, the philanthropic fund will be managed by Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit organization focused on affordable housing. Enterprise will design the program in collaboration with tenants and community-based organizations to ensure the program meets the needs of hardest hit New Yorkers who are unserved or underserved by existing resources.

Enterprise plans to directly grant philanthropic dollars to experienced human services nonprofits across the city, enabling them to reach more low-income New Yorkers impacted by the pandemic. Project Parachute aims to reach those who have limited or no access to government resources, including undocumented immigrants and shadow economy workers. It also seeks to support those New York City communities hit disproportionately hard by the COVID-19, including black and Latino communities.

“We have one common purpose in this moment: Keeping New Yorkers in their homes,” said Judi Kende, vice president and New York market leader of Enterprise. “Project Parachute is one of many steps needed toward providing vital resources to tenants, especially the unserved and underserved. Partnership between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors is critical, and we are thankful for the commitment of the nonprofits and property owners taking part in this important initiative. And as we now face one of the biggest economic, health, and housing crises in our lifetime, we commit to advocating for additional solutions, including federal funding for comprehensive rental assistance that will help ensure ongoing housing stability for both tenants and property owners.”

Specifically, impacted tenants will be able to access assistance by working with nonprofit Homebase providers who can connect them to resources. These providers include BronxWorks, CAMBA, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, Catholic Charities Community Services, HELP USA, RiseBoro Community Partnership, and Services for the UnderServed. Homebase is a homelessness prevention network with 23 locations across the city’s five boroughs.

The providers will work with tenants individually with the goal of avoiding eviction once the eviction moratorium ends and increasing housing stability, including benefit advocacy, financial counseling, tenant's right education, and other services to increase housing stability. The program will be administered entirely autonomously by nonprofit partners and will be blind to which buildings the tenants live.

Philanthropic funders, nonprofit, and industry supporters of Project Parachute include: