Nonprofit Works With Local Realtors to Secure Housing for Homeless

An apartment building in Middletown, N.Y., on Dec. 27, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

A Middletown-based nonprofit dedicated to breaking the homeless cycle has recently started a new partnership with local realtors to secure apartments for homeless people.

HONOR, formerly called Housing First, is a state-funded initiative that aims to place 50 homeless individuals into long-term apartment leases across Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, and Dutchess counties.

According to Kristina Gibbs, a realtor with the Gibbs Team at Keller Williams Hudson Valley, the first company to sign on the new program, she has already secured two apartments in Poughkeepsie and Ellenville for HONOR clients and is working on several others in Beacon.

“We use our vast network of agents and property owners to share the mission of Housing First,” Gibbs told The Epoch Times in an interview on Feb. 28, adding that the nonprofit covers not only lease payments but also utility bills and furnishing.

She said that a one-bedroom apartment in Hudson Valley typically costs between $1,450 and $1,600 per month, and most leases she undertakes for the nonprofit last one or two years.

For each secured apartment, HONOR receives $23,000 in annual funding from the state Office of Mental Health, with an additional $2,000 available per unit to expedite the move-in.

The nonprofit obtained a multi-year state grant of more than $6 million from the state agency to run the Housing First program, according to contract data maintained by the state Comptroller’s Office.

Besides housing, the program also comes with support to help homeless people recover from any mental illnesses or addiction issues they may have and get back on their own feet.

“We realize the challenges of affordable housing in the Hudson Valley region is compounded by economics, disabilities, and health challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness,” Chris Molinelli, executive director at HONOR, said in a statement.

“With the support of local property managers, landlords, and the real estate community, we can literally take people off the streets and secure them into a furnished home while providing services to build independence and sustainability.”

Gibbs said, “Working on this program with HONOR gives us the opportunity to support an underserved population within our communities, which is very important to us.”

According to the state Office of Mental Health, the housing program maintains a low admission threshold for rapid transitioning from homelessness to housing.

An HONOR spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the only hard rules are that applicants must be homeless and are referred by the state-funded homeless outreach and mental illness treatment teams, Safe Options Support and Assertive Community Treatment, respectively.

Beneficiaries of the housing program are expected to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent and utilities, though that requirement may be loosened if they have not received welfare income from the government or initially cannot pay rent, according to the nonprofit.

The state Office of Mental Health has allocated around $60 million to 10 local agencies statewide to secure hundreds of apartments for homeless people until 2027 or 2028, according to contract data maintained by the state Comptroller’s Office.