Common Ground National
Ending homelessness in communities across the country and the globe
In communities around the country and across the globe, in cities as diverse as New Orleans, Los Angeles, and London, the Common Ground National is creating local strategies to end homelessness. We partner with government, not-for-profit, and private sector leaders to accomplish four main objectives:
* Create housing
* Share knowledge
* Test and model innovative solutions
* Champion creative and effective practices
A Force for Innovation
As New York’s largest developer of supportive housing, an award-winning property manager, and an acknowledged leader in helping homeless men and women move from the street to stable housing, Common Ground is a potent force for innovation and results.
Create a Plan to End Homelessness
We offer 19 years of experience and comprehensive expertise in housing development, property management systems, and social service delivery. We guide you in bringing together service providers, government agencies, landlords, businesses, and community leaders to support homelessness prevention and housing solutions.
Street to Home client in his new apartment at the Times Square
End Street Homelessness Through Targeted Outreach and Housing Placement
We help you adapt our innovative outreach and housing placement program that reduced street homelessness in New York City’s Times Square neighborhood by 87%. We move individuals living on the street directly into housing, and provide them with the individualized assistance they need to get back on their feet and lead a stable life. The City of New York adopted our approach as its citywide strategy to end homelessness, and we have assisted other cities — Denver, Toronto, Atlanta, Adelaide — in introducing similar efforts to their communities.
Develop State-of-the-Art Supportive Housing
Working with public agencies, nonprofit and for-profit developers, we create housing based on our model of integrating mixed-income workers with the formerly homeless. We assess project feasibility, including organizational readiness; we help select development team members, evaluate financial options, advise on site acquisition and quality design, and help to secure political and community support.
Schermerhorn House in downtown Brooklyn.
Integrate the Formerly Homeless into Mixed-Income Housing
Mixed-income communities can successfully integrate formerly homeless individuals and families at risk of losing their homes. Common Ground’s experience in working with national leaders in mixed-income housing will help you incorporate supportive housing components in large-scale redevelopments and a range of projects.
Provide Quality Housing Management
Common Ground currently operates more than 1,600 units of housing. We have established a strong track record of providing housing for the formerly homeless in properties reflecting the highest management standards. Our innovative Management Index monitors and evaluates tenant well-being and the quality of building operations. We guide you through establishing facility management systems, tenant selection, rent collection, and security planning for special needs populations. We demonstrate the feasibility of renting to a wide range of households, while enhancing neighborhoods and contributing to communities’ economic development.
Prevent Homelessness
We help communities prevent homelessness by assisting individuals and families who are particularly at risk, e.g., veterans, young people aging out of foster care, and families in areas where high rates of unemployment, incarceration, and child welfare involvement are predictors for homelessness. We help you use data to design targeted local strategies to combat homelessness before it happens.
Do you need our assistance in your community?
For information on our services and fees, please contact:
cginstitute@commonground.org
For general information, or to request a tour of Common
Ground’s housing complete a tour request or email mailto:tours@commonground.org
