The Homefront Initiative

The Lower East Side is home to some of New York City's most at-risk residents. Poverty, isolation, mental health challenges, food scarcity, violence, racism, and homelessness are among the issues our neighbors face every single day.

We've all seen days, weeks, and months of action come and go, but the challenges our neighbors face remain.

The Homefront Initiative is our pledge to support the community where we were founded through on-going support of programs at the University Settlement Society. Rather than select individual action causes to support, our goal is to help support those in need through holistic and sustainable approaches that improve the quality of life for anyone in need regardless of background.

--

University Settlement partners with 40,000 New Yorkers on the Lower East Side and in Brooklyn every year to build on their strengths as they achieve healthy, stable, and remarkable lives. For over 130 years, weve worked with our communities to pioneer highly effective programs that fight poverty and systemic inequality. Established in 1886 as the first Settlement House in the United States, we bring the value of that movement into the 21st century by meeting New Yorkers where they live, listening to their perspectives and understanding them as complete individuals, holding space for communities to organize, and partnering with them to advocate for justice and equality.

We work with New Yorkers of all ages. Our comprehensive programs include early childhood education, mental health and wellness, benefits assistance and eviction prevention, adult literacy and education, healthy aging, community and recreation centers, performing and visual arts, and youth development. This December, were raising the critical funding necessary to ensure our neighbors can make it through this crisis and succeed on the other end. To learn more about why NYC is US, visit universitysettlement.org.