hope connects supporting residents

Hope Connects

Hope Connects

With the support of the Capital One Community Fund and M & T Bank, Hope Community offers a resident services program known as Hope Connects. Hope Connects is a resident driven social service referral program designed to meet the needs of residents in the Hope Community portfolio and the surrounding neighborhood. Through Hope Connects, residents of Hope managed properties are assisted with settling into their communities and access to other programs offered by Hope and its community partners. Hope Connects also assists residents with assessing their individual needs and/or referring them to programs that offer services which include:

hope connects supporting residents

Financial Education

Through Hope Connects, Resident Services Coordinators provide a range of tools and programs for residents throughout Hope’s portfolio as well as individuals from the general East Harlem community. These services help individuals achieve financial stability through workshops, individual work, and valuable referrals to other programs in the community. Services include:

  • Eviction Prevention Services
  • EBO (Benefits & Entitlement Screening) service provided by SEEDCO
  • Budgeting
  • Credit Repair / Credit Building
  • Income Protection
    Insurance (Renters, Life, Health, Auto)
    Retirement and Estate Planning
  • Saving
    Investment / Investment opportunities
  • Home-Buying guidelines

Housing Permanency Support

Resident Services Coordinators provides services to families transitioning from shelters and into Hope Community’s affordable housing. This service is key to ensuring the transition is smooth and helps them to acclimate to their new environment. Through Hope Connects, we offer individual and group services through workshops and referrals to other organizations in the community and include:

  • ETO (Benefits & Entitlement Screening)
  • Budgeting for new leaseholders
  • Maintaining your own apartment
  • Maintenance/light repairs
  • Building Healthy Communities
  • Effective self-advocacy
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Health Insurance

Affordable health insurance options available to Hope Community residents through NYC.

Find out how below:

Get Covered NYC

Employment & Education

Hope Community provides services to unemployed and underemployed individuals throughout Hope Community’s portfolio, as well as supporting the educational potential of those seeking to complete school or pursue a secondary education. Our staff conducts employment and vocational assessments of residents seeking assistance achieving financial stability through workshops, individual work, and referrals to Workforce development groups.

Services may include:

  • Education and Vocational Training Opportunities
  • Resume and Cover Letter Writing
  • Job Readiness / Job Search (Online/In-person)
  • Interview Preparation
  • Employment Preparedness / Workplace Conduct
  • Referrals for educational opportunities that will help residents enhance wealth-building opportunities and incorporate entrepreneurial skills

Services for Older Adults

Resident Services Coordinators provide services to adults 60 years or older residing in Hope Community affordable rental units. We offer assistance in the following areas:

  • ETO- Benefits & Entitlements (SNAP/SCRIE/HEAP)
  • Food Pantry/Referrals to Meals on Wheels
  • Health & Wellness (Home Care/Diet & Exercise) workshops
  • Social Services and Resources (Reduced Fare Metro-Card)
  • Socialization Opportunities
  • Information on Cooling Centers
  • Assistance with Paying Con-Ed for qualified seniors
  • Holiday events

Tenants Associations

Through the Hope Connects Program, we aim to educate Hope Community residents about the benefits of forming Tenants Associations (TAs). We are available to assist residents to develop and cultivate an organization-wide Tenant Council who will partner with Hope’s leadership to ensure that their voices continue to be embedded in the work that we do. In addition to supporting the development and organization of TAs, Hope Connects identifies essential items and tools needed to secure active engagement and success. We offer workshops that include:

  • Understanding the role and benefits of Tenant Associations
  • TA Leadership Training
  • Strategies on Effective Advocacy

Social Service Support

Hope Connects Resident Services Coordinators provide Social Service support through light case management for residents and we connect them to suitable community-based organizations for additional resources. Hope Connects aims to promote housing stability, enhance economic self-sufficiency, and provide the tools necessary to improve the overall quality-of-life of all Hope Community residents.

Healthy Programming

In an effort to assist residents achieve healthy living environments, Hope Community continually provides the below services at all Hope Community buildings:

  • Integrated Pest Management
  • Smoke Free Housing
  • Active Design
  • Use of Green Cleaning Products
  • Energy Conservation

Although not all residents have adapted the above recommendations, we continue to work with residents throughout the portfolio to make improvements that positively impact their health. The Hope Connects staff are always available to work with Tenants Associations at buildings that are interested in becoming smoke free or implementing any of the initiatives noted above.

Hope Connects Collaborations

Hope’s Resident Services Program partners with organizations from the community who provided valuable services that support our effort to help residents increase their economic self-sufficiency and build generational wealth. Our current partners include:

Roads to Success

Roads to Success is dedicated to helping young people discover the self-esteem, self-reliance and empathy necessary to become future leaders and driving forces of positive change. They are led by a passionate community of young educators—a lead-by-example staff who are dedicated that all of New York City’s young people are given a fair and equitable chance to fulfill their dreams. Through our partnership they offer the following for Hope Community residents as well as those from the East Harlem Community:

  • Participation in free Price-Waterhouse High School Internship Program
  • College Prep Program for youth and adults (Career Exploration, College Application Process, College Essay Writing, Networking and how to pay for college)
  • Job Readiness Workshop for youth and adults (resume writing, Cover & thank letters, interviewing skills, Technology Skills, Job search strategies, Building a Network, Workplace Communication)
  • Financial Literacy Workshops for youth and adults (Budgeting, Managing Debt, Credit, Investing, & Savings)

Custom Collaborative

Custom Collaborative is a New York City-based entrepreneurship and workforce development program that trains and supports individuals from low-income and immigrant communities launch fashion careers and businesses. By learning the standard techniques and ethical business practices of the fashion industry, participants can achieve secure livelihoods in the fashion industry as designers, entrepreneurs, pattern makers, and seamstresses who create and sell high-quality clothing and accessories. Through our partnership, Custom Collaborative operates a Business Incubator and developed a fashion entrepreneurship training program for Hope residents and the community at large. Participants will learn:

  • Entrepreneurship cornerstones, including pricing and purchasing
  • Textile Identification and use
  • Sewing and Design Skills
  • Customer Relations

Additional Community Partners

  • Strive
  • Exodus
  • East Harlem Tutorial
  • East Harlem Talent Network
  • Creative Artworks
  • Dream Charter School
  • Association to Benefit Children (ABC)
  • Mt. Sinai
  • Boriken Neighborhood Health Center
  • Metropolitan Hospital
  • Harvest Homes
  • Little Sisters of Assumption
  • Urban Justice Center
  • Housing Court Answers
  • Union Settlement
  • NY Common Pantry
  • Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
  • Enterprise Community Partners
  • Legal Services NYC
  • East Harlem Asthma Center/Department of Mental Health & Hygiene
  • Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield
  • Archcare
  • 23rd Precinct
  • 25th Precinct
  • Odyssey House
  • MTA Guardians
  • Free Masons on NYC

If your organization is interested in partnering with Hope Community to help residents to increase their economic self-sufficiency, please send email to info@hopeci.org.