Seedco is honored to have received a grant of $170,000 from The New York Community Trust (NYCT) to initiate an exciting new program, the Self-Sufficiency Project.  Working with clients referred to Seedco by New York City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA), this innovative year-long pilot project will support a group of New York City homeless families as they transition from shelters into their own homes.  This program builds upon Seedco’s Career Advancement and Retention (CAR) program, which is also funded by the New York Community Trust.

To help people move out of the shelter system, New York City created a rent subsidy program called Living in Communities (LINC). There are a variety of LINC programs, including some targeted to employed families, where homeless families with at least one employed adult must contribute 30 percent of their income toward rent; HRA covers the balance for up to five years. To qualify, at least one member of a LINC household must work more than 35 hours per week and have been employed for more than 90 days. As income increases over the five-year period, the value of the voucher is reduced. Households are ultimately expected to afford their housing without voucher support.

In this pilot, Seedco will help a cohort of Bronx-based households participating in LINC to retain employment, advance to higher-paying jobs which support the full cost of housing, develop a financial plan to budget for housing and household costs, enroll in benefits, and achieve financial goals.

Seedco will work with an initial cohort of 40 households, with the goal of assisting 150 LINC households if additional funding is raised. Seedco is extremely grateful to New York Community Trust for their support in changing the lives of these homeless families.