SpareRoom donates $26,000 to NYC homeless charity Breaking Ground

Home. It’s where you can relax after a long day and feel comfortable just being yourself. It’s where you have can warm up from the cold, stay in on rainy days, and spend time with the people you care about. Here at SpareRoom, we believe everyone deserves a good home.

We understand paying rent can be tough sometimes – especially in expensive cities like NYC. That’s why, every month, SpareRoom hosts a competition called Live Rent Free, where we pay someone’s monthly rent. And once a year, we’ll pay one lucky winner’s rent for an entire year! Sounds pretty great, right?

But what can we do to help those who can’t afford to pay rent or struggle to find a home at all? The answer is to support organizations who are actively working on assisting those in need. That’s why we’ve partnered with Breaking Ground.

Breaking Ground is the largest provider of permanent supportive housing and outreach services for people experiencing homelessness on the streets of NYC. By addressing the barriers to housing beyond finances, this organization is able to tackle chronic homelessness hands on.

“In 2018, we touched the lives of more than 8,400 New Yorkers, including 940 people who moved into a Breaking Ground apartment – their new home – for the very first time. And with crucial support from SpareRoom, we served 536 individuals through our transitional housing program – offering an immediate, safe place to live for the most vulnerable street homeless New Yorkers while we work with them toward permanent housing solutions. Our Safe Havens are an important resource for people on the journey from street to home. We are incredibly grateful that SpareRoom is standing with us and the people we serve through their support for this critical program.”

– Brenda Rosen, President & CEO of Breaking Ground

As a non-profit with 501c3 status, Breaking Ground relies on the financial support of donors to aid in their success of their mission. That’s why SpareRoom has matched every Live Rent Free winner’s prize to a donation to Breaking Ground since 2017. This month we’re proud to announce a donation of $26,000. With an approximate total of $39,609 to date, Breaking Ground’s Director of Communication, Patrick Bonck, shared the impact this support makes.

He says, “SpareRoom’s support to date is equal to approximately 365 nights of transitional housing – that includes nightly clean and safe accommodations, three healthy meals a day, psychiatric and primary medical care, comprehensive case management, and assistance with securing stable, permanent housing.”

If you want to make an impact too, visit BreakingGround.org for more information and learn how to get involved.

Don’t forget to enter the Live Rent Free competition to help us continue helping those who don’t already have a place to call home.