Hope STARTS with YOU! Imagine having to vacate your home with six children in tow, one with substantial disabilities. Your fund are rapidly diminishing. You try as best as you can to maintain normalcy for your children. The pain, guilt, and embarrassment of this uncontrollable situation weigh on you as you try to explain it to all to them. Where do you turn? What’s next?

At Homefirst we have seen families face hardships and obstacles or emergencies, which affect their lives and financial stability. These issues often times jeopardize their housing. We offer a suite of social services, temporary assistance and supportive services including emergency rental assistance, utility payments, or security deposit assistance to prevent homelessness. In addition, Homefirst provides financial assistance to eligible residents to sustain housing with the ultimate goals of preventing homelessness prevention and housing retention.

COVID-19 has brought an additional layer of problems to our families. Many cannot "shelter" in place with no stable shelter. And food insecurity is at an all time high. We help these families navigate these obstacles with care and real solutions. Read more about this family.

Meet Mrs. Gomez-Diaz, a New York native, wife, and mother to sons, 4 and 5 years of age. Despite facing daily challenges with mobility due to cerebral palsy, she maintains a spirit of optimism. The housing subsidy process proved to be a difficult process to manage with Mrs. Gomez-Diaz’s disability and two young children. They were 1 and 2 years old at the time. As she was unable to manage this process, she, unfortunately, lost her housing voucher. With no other options, her family was forced to move to a shelter for two months before Homefirst was able to intervene.

There was a time, however, that she remembers when her situation was not so positive. “I wanted to give up…then I looked at my husband and my kids and was like, I can’t give up because I have children.”

Homefirst Holiday Fund

By Homefirst Interfaith Housing & Family Services

Homefirst Holiday Fund