YHA Partnership with Westhab will help to Preserve Affordable Housing in Yonkers
Yonkers Housing Authority is using Section 8 Vouchers to Expand and Preserve Affordable Housing
YONKERS, NY (May 12, 2023) – Low-income residents will be able to stay in their affordable housing units thanks to a new partnership between The Yonkers Housing Authority and Westhab.
Last year, YHA announced a partnership with Westhab to provide rental subsidies to residents by awarding the organization Section 8 housing vouchers. YHA administers the vouchers provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Section 8 vouchers provide critical rental subsidies to income-qualifying tenants, allowing residents to remain in their homes and increasing the stock of much-needed, deeply affordable housing in the Yonkers community.
As of March of this year, 67 households have begun receiving this critical subsidy. YHA and Westhab plan to add 33 more vouchers to the program, preserving a total of 100 units of quality housing for low-income residents in Yonkers, including families with children, the elderly, and the disabled.
“The goal is to preserve affordable housing for people who may be at risk of losing their homes because their incomes are too low to afford housing in our area,’’ said Wilson Kimball, President and CEO of YHA. “Our partnership with Westhab makes sense on so many levels. It helps support low-income residents as well as a non-profit organization that does such valuable work in our community.”
“We truly appreciate this opportunity to better serve our community. These vouchers greatly benefit our tenants and will help preserve and improve Westhab’s quality, affordable housing stock in Yonkers for the long-term,” says Westhab President & CEO Richard Nightingale.
Westhab, founded in 1981 to address the affordable housing crisis in Westchester, develops affordable and supportive housing, operates homeless shelters, and provides youth programs and employment services in Westchester and New York City.
Andrew Germansky, Senior Vice President of Real Estate for Westhab, shared that many residents living in Westhab’s affordable housing are not currently receiving subsidies. The vouchers will provide another layer of much-needed support. The additional source of income will also mean greater resources for building improvements. The partnership with Westhab is part of a larger effort by YHA and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano to expand affordable housing opportunities in the city.
Marc S., a Westhab tenant living in Yonkers, explained how receiving a voucher has impacted his living situation, “Westhab employees have been so helpful and quick to get things moving in the right direction, but I still struggled to pay my rent at times, especially in recent years. These vouchers are helping me tremendously. I am so grateful because this is my home, and I want to stay here.”
This past summer, Mayor Spano, Kimball, and MHACY Board Chairman James Landy, announced that they were releasing a request for proposals from building owners who were interested in participating in the Section 8 Housing program.
“Housing is key to the vitality of any city. In addition to all the new market-rate housing that is going up, YHA has renovated its public housing stock and is now making more affordable housing available through the use of Section 8 vouchers in partnership with building owners,’’ said Mayor Spano. “This approach ensures that the City of Yonkers provides a full spectrum of housing, and renews our commitment to provide safe, affordable housing for working families.’’
For more information on Section 8 vouchers visit YHA’s website at www.mhacy.org
About YHA The Yonkers Housing Authority is the largest provider of affordable housing in the City of Yonkers and the fourth largest public housing authority in New York State. YHA has an unparalleled commitment to redeveloping, managing, and administering its housing stock to provide low-income families, the elderly, and disabled individuals with access to good, sustainable housing that improves the quality of the residents’ lives, fosters their economic success, and allows them to serve as integral members of communities in which they live. For more information visit www.mhacy.org
About Westhab
Westhab was founded in 1981 to address the affordable housing crisis in Westchester County. Since then, it has become Westchester’s largest provider of housing and services for the homeless and its largest nonprofit developer of affordable and supportive housing. Westhab is also established in New York City where it currently operates 15 homeless shelters and five out-of-school-time programs in NYC. Since Westhab’s founding, it has built 1,094 affordable housing units, moved 9,851 households from homelessness into affordable housing, placed 9,628 people into employment, and delivered services to over 10,000 homeless and at-risk youth. Westhab is—Building Communities. Changing Lives. For more information visit westhab.org or follow Westhab on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.