Unlock NYC

In NYC, rental assistance vouchers are lifelines for thousands of families, often creating pathways from homelessness to housing. Unfortunately, renters with vouchers face rampant housing discrimination by landlords and brokers. Unlock NYC is a fair housing nonprofit majority-led by women of color who have experienced housing discrimination because they use government rental assistance. We build tools that tenants use to combat source of income (SOI) discrimination and transition from homelessness to housing. OUR IMPACT Since launching in 2021, we have: -Helped 170+ families report discrimination and transition into permanent housing; -Saved NYC taxpayer dollars an estimated $3.2 million by reducing months spent in government-funded homeless shelters; -Crowdsourced 2,000+ allegations of housing discrimination and published novel research and policy recommendations using this unique dataset; -Ran a successful advocacy campaign to beef up NYC's specialized anti-discrimination enforcement unit, securing $1.3 million in new public funding to hire more attorneys and supporting staff at the NYC Commission on Human Rights. UNLOCK NYC DONOR CIRCLE Help us continue building off this momentum and join the movement for fair housing in New York City! Our inaugural donor circle aims to raise $20,000 over the course of 2024. We are seeking housing justice champions and New Yorkers who are invested in making our city a thriving and equitable place to live. TESTIMONIALS “I never imagined having my own home in New York, being the owner of my own keys - all thanks to Unlock NYC.” - Unlock NYC user Soelys. “[Unlock NYC] made me feel like my own words actually matter.” Anonymous user “I cannot recommend [Unlock NYC] enough. I have referred every voucher-holding client here and it dramatically improves chances of rehousing every time.” Jenny Akchin, Housing rights attorney, TakeRoot Justice

At Unlock NYC, half of our employees and 100% of our Leadership Collective members have directly experienced housing discrimination, homelessness, and/or eviction. Some of us are transitioning into permanent housing, balancing our roles at Unlock NYC with caregiving responsibilities, and living in a (very!) expensive city. We built an Emergency Fund to provide financial support to our staff, interns, and advisory board to reduce the hardship caused by unexpected personal expenses. Through a simple, quick (<5 min), and private form, eligible team members can request up to $250 to cover an emergency expense. For example, during our 6-month pilot project (April to September 2022), we fulfilled 6 requests, including purchasing an air conditioning unit during a record-breaking heat wave, supporting urgent moving expenses for two team members, covering a groceries shortage when SNAP benefits were delayed, and defraying the rising cost of gas. Our 2025 fundraising goal is $6,000, which will support up to 6 requests per quarter.