Community Housing Innovations

Toys for Tots® But No Toys for Teens

While Toys for Tots is a wonderful program and will serve the more than 100 homeless children in our housing programs, there is no such program for our homeless teens. That is why we are asking our friends to make a tax-deductible holiday donation now so that we may purchase appropriate gifts for our teenaged homeless youth. Please allow them to share in the holiday spirit. You may send a monetary or gift donation to Community Housing Innovations, Inc., 190 East Post Road, White Plains, NY 10601. Or, Call our Hudson Valley Director, Debbie Perkins, at 914-683-1010 ext. 232 to see how you can help.

Orange County Approves $25,000 Down Payment Grants at Eagles Point

Community Housing Innovations has won approval of $25,000 down payment assistance grants towards the purchase of a brand new condominium at Eagles Point in Middletown, New York. The grants are available to first time homebuyers with household incomes that do not exceed 80% of the Orange County Area Median Income. This is currently $61,200 for a family of four.

These beautiful homes at Ruth Court start at $169,900--which ends up being $144,900 with the $25,000 grant--for a two-bedroom unit.

The condominiums are appointed with gourmet kitchens oak vanities, and ceramic tile in the master bath, main bath and powder room.

According to Orange County Director of Community Development, Thomas Lane, “The down payment assistance program is a key element in our effort to increase the supply of workforce housing in our county.”

For full details and pictures of the condominiums, Click Here

CHI/Westchester’s Rental Assistance Program Expands to Serve Single Individuals

For the past seven years, CHI has been one of two agencies running the Westchester County Dept. of Social Services funded Rental Assistance Program (RAP). This “Section 8” like program has assisted working homeless families in leaving the shelter and welfare systems behind. The family pays 35% of their income towards the rent and RAP pays the difference between their portion and the actual rent. Due to the high cost of housing many working families are struggling to obtain and maintain their housing. Therefore, it is even harder for a disabled person on a fixed income earning up to $710 a month to find affordable housing in an area where rents are skyrocketing. HUD has set a standard that one should pay approximately 30% of one’s income toward their housing cost. For someone on SSI, affordable housing would need to cost less than $220 a month. However, Westchester County is currently listed as the 5th most expensive Metropolitan areas in the country by the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach report. A fair market rent is $1,300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.

Therefore, CHI is honored to provide RAP for single homeless and disabled individuals. Westchester County Department of Social Services has taken on this bold and desperately needed initiative. Though it is easy to blame others for their misfortune, many have become homeless due to loss of employment as the result of an illness or injury, domestic violence, death of a spouse and even as a returning disabled veteran from Iraq.

CHI is currently assisting four “singles” with rental assistance and has many others looking for an affordable unit. Three were previously living in a shelter. With RAP they are now in their own apartment and permanently housed. They include one married couple--both on disability--a 38 year old woman working part-time as a school bus monitor for $190 a week during the academic year and a 54 year old man working part-time at a grocery store for $7.75 an hour. The fourth was referred from a hospital. The 64 year old woman lost her job and had rental arrears due to a long hospitalization. Now on a retirement pension of just over $600 a month, DSS assisted with arrears and RAP will enable her to remain housed and prevent a homeless shelter stay due to this tragic event in her life.