Housing & Family Services is a HSCP funded organization.
The Housing Stability Counseling Program
The Housing Stability Counseling Program provides resources for homeowners and renters who are dealing with loss of income, eviction, homelessness, or other serious issues. If you are a homeowner struggling with missed mortgage payments or forbearance, or a renter facing possible eviction, our agencies are here to help! Please contact us today.
Defending the elderly
Defending the rights of minorities
Defending the low-income
From workshops on how to use a computer and Google Suite, to digital skills for small business owners, the Hope Digital Skills Program offers a range of options for jumpstarting or enhancing your ability to use a computer for everyday life, education, and work.
Join the Esperanza College Tech Fair on Wednesday, May 31st from 2:30 – 7:00 PM to sign up for workshops and learn about opportunities for kids to access digital skills. You can find a list of workshop offerings here. All workshops are free and one-hour long.
Esperanza Immigration Legal Services hosted the 2023 Celebrating Hope for Immigrants fundraiser. Listen to Yeraldyn’s story to learn more about EILS’s impact.
The Cooling Assistance benefit helps eligible households buy and install an air conditioner or fan. Benefits are provided on a first come, first served basis or until August 31, 2023.
Don’t fall for scams. Here’s what to know.
Criminals are impersonating Con Edison to get money or your personal information.
Know how to recognize a scam and protect yourself:
1. Con Edison doesn’t accept payments via Venmo, Zelle, CashApp or Bitcoin. Hang up on anyone calling and asking for Con Edison payments by these methods.
2. Asking for ID isn’t rude, it’s safe. If someone comes to your door, claiming to be from Con Edison, call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) and confirm the employee’s name and ID number.
3. Make payments safely. We accept online payments through conEd.com and conEd.com/GuestPayment.
4. We will never ask to see your bill. Never share your account number or show your bill to someone at your door.
5. If you’re not sure an email is really from Con Edison, don’t click on any links.
Suspect a Scammer?
Call the police. Then call us: 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633).
Apply for up to $20,000 in debt relief for undergraduate loans, graduate loans, spousal loans, Parent PLUS & Grad PLUS loans. Filling out the application is easy and takes 5 minutes.
Apply today (but no later than December 31st, 2023).
A limited-time program called Pay It Off may help you lower the amount you owe in child support. Pay a minimum of $500 towards the Department of Social Services (DSS), and Pay It Off will match that amount. This doubles the value of the payment and reduces your debt owed to DSS.
Apply by October 30th.
If you work for a government organization or 501(c)(3) non-profit and have federal student loans, then you may be eligible for complete forgiveness on your remaining balance. You must:
- have completed 120 qualifying monthly payments
- work or have worked for a qualifying employer who must certify your employment. Qualifying employers include:
- U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government (includes U.S. military service)
- Not-for-profit organization
- consolidate other loans by, and apply by October 31st.
You may also be able to get credit for payments that did not qualify for PSLF in the past.
Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP)|NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) |
Free food is available at pantries and food kitchens near you. Everyone is eligible for emergency food assistance, regardless of immigration status or income.
We have exciting news to share! Our latest redesign of your personal my Social Security account now makes it easier to conduct business with us and find the information you need with us online.
With the new design, people receiving Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income are now able to update their telephone number online. We are also providing more information under the Benefits and Payments section. In addition, people receiving Social Security benefits can change their address and direct deposit information under the My Profile tab.
By selecting the appropriate links on the homepage, you can:
- Get an instant Benefit Verification or proof of income letter.
- Request a replacement Social Security card.
- Replace your SSA-1099/SSA-1042S tax forms, if applicable.
- Get your Social Security Statement.
988 is the new, three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL). 988 is now available nation-wide.
988 is more than just an easy-to-remember number. It is a direct connection to caring support for anyone in mental health distress. This may include:
- thoughts of suicide
- substance use crisis
- emotional distress
988 is a free service available to everyone.
HOW TO CONTACT 988
You can contact 988 by chat, text, or phone.
Call or text 988 to be connected with a trained crisis counselor. When you call, you can access support in Spanish by pressing 2. Interpretation services are available in over 150 languages.
To access 988 via chat, visit 988lifeline.org.
NYC has many great programs to support New Yorkers with food, money, work and much more.
$35 Million To Avoid Foreclosure!
Thank you NY legislature for approving $35 Million to help struggling NY homeowners to avoid foreclosure!
We need to thank a lot of people so please do the following TODAY:
1. Please tweet thank you’s on your organizations’ twitter accounts to our champions and leaders. Graphic attached, as well as tweets and the handles to tag:
Tier 1 ‘thank you’ Tweet
A huge win for NY homeowners w/ historic $35M in funding for #HOPP program in this year’s budget! THANK YOU @HeleneWeinstein @BrianKavanaghNY @SteveCym @LizKrueger @CarlHeastie @AndreaSCousins for championing this crucial funding to protect families against foreclosure.
Tier 2 ‘thank you’ tweet
The NY state budget includes historic funding for the #HOPP program! Struggling NY homeowners hit hard by COVID now have access to free help to protect them from foreclosure THANKS to @JeffreyDinowitz @CharlesLavineNY @SolagesNY @bradhoylman!
Hochul ‘thank you’ tweet
THANK YOU @GovKathyHochul for including historic relief to homeowners in budget w/ #HOPP program funding! HOPP will help preserve housing & prevent foreclosure for the thousands of struggling NY homeowners hit by COVID by providing them w/ free counseling & legal representation.
2. Tweet a variation of one of the above tweets and tag your members. The twitter handles for members are on the main spreadsheet we used for tracking meetings.
3. Send a personal email to your members and their staff with whom you met. It can be short and sweet. Here’s some sample copy, and don’t forget to remind them about your services!: Thank you to Assemblymember/Senator X for their continued support of the NYS Office of the Attorney General’s Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP). We are grateful for the inclusion of $35 million in the final budget this year for HOPP. This funding will allow us to serve more homeowners who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are facing mortgage and tax default and foreclosure.
NYC still offers no-cost COVID-19 testing across the city (no insurance required).
Find a test site near you: nyc.gov/covidtest
A Brooklyn doctor embarked Monday night on a humanitarian mission to Ukraine, where he’ll join a 10-person team to provide medical equipment and training at a vulnerable spot on the country’s border.
“We need to neutralize hatred from the oppressor with humanitarian love,” Dr. Conrad Fischer, a Brookdale University Hospital infectious disease specialist, told Brooklyn Paper …
Never hesitate to contact us about emergencies.
Safety Starts in Your Home
Signs: Natural gas smells like rotten eggs. May sound like hissing. You might see bubbles in water, blowing dust, or dying plants.
Don’t: Flip a switch, light a match, or touch appliances or electronics, including cell phones. Doing so can cause an explosion if gas is in the air.
Do: Get away and take others with you.
Call: At a safe distance, call 911 or Con Edison at 1-800-75-CONED(1-800-752-6633) or National Grid at 1-718-643-4050.
Never assume someone else has already called. You can report leaks anonymously and don’t have to be nearby when help arrives.
More Safety Tips
- Check that all burners are turned completely off when you’re done cooking
- Make sure your pilot light is always on.
Take 30 Seconds to Be Safer
Fire Marshal Reports
Do you need a report from the Fire Marshal? You can visit the NYC OpenRecords Portal and requests that report as well as many other documents.
Hundreds of thousands of New York households have fallen behind on their mortgages or property taxes during the pandemic, putting them at risk of losing their homes after statewide foreclosure protections expired earlier this month. So what exactly should homeowners do? City Limits talked with three experts for guidance…
