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Volunteer as a Tenants Rights Workshop Teacher

We need your help combating the housing crisis that pushes working poor families in New York City into homelessness.  Please volunteer with us as a Tenants Rights Workshop Teacher.

Voluntary Teachers:  Check out these CliffsNotes taken from a comprehensive NYC government report.

·         NYC renters stagnated increasing < 15% over the last 20 years,

·         Avg NYC rents increased 40% for the same period

·         Manhattan rents are the highest in the nation

·         Hundreds of thousands struggle to pay high rents with meager earnings

·         Many join the more than 50,000 New Yorkers now sleeping in homeless shelters

·         Others forego food, coats & other basic needs to keep their families housed

Why the breakdown between supply and demand?  We New Yorkers see it ourselves:

·         More people are moving to or staying in the City than leaving:

·         Older residents are aging in place rather than moving after retirement;

·         Young families are remaining in the City rather than moving to the suburbs when their children reach school age;

·         Empty-nesters are returning to the City after their children are grown, and

·         People are moving to the City from all over the U.S. and world.

·         Mismatch between demand for affordable housing and supply

Please help keep struggling families housed.

We are looking for volunteer attorneys to teach the Tenants' Rights & Responsibilities Workshop under our Tenant Education Program.

• When? Tuesdays from 5:30 - 7:30pm.

(Commitment can be for as little as one Tuesday per month!)

• Where? At the Kennedy Center in Harlem (off the 2/3 line – 34 W. 134 St.
• How? Our Program Coordinator will train volunteers in all necessary materials.
• What?  Workshops taught by volunteers cover topics relevant to preserving and stabilizing housing in NYC
• Why: Through these training workshops, this program aims to transform participants into tenants who are reliable and preferable to landlords

Curriculum includes:

• Basic knowledge and skills in managing the family budget
• Identify and practice basic rights and responsibilities as a NYC tenant
• Understand the need for a cooperative and peaceful landlord-tenant relationship
• Communication and conflict resolution skills for landlord-tenant relationships
• How to find safe, adequate, affordable apartments
• Info on rental subsidies and assistance programs
• Roots and reasons for eviction/homelessness and how to avoid them
• How to become marketable in the job market

Volunteer as a Tenants Rights Workshop Teacher