Views from the Northwest Bronx

Unfortunately, due to concerns around Covid, space limitations, organizational capacity, and new IRS VITA limitations, UNHP is unable to offer the free income tax program in 2022. In this blog post, UNHP shares how we remain available to guide you through the 2022 tax season and provide valuable housing and financial services virtually.

The December 1st renewal of the UnitedHealthcare and Montefiore Network contract is welcome but does not solve the problem that thousands can lose access to coverage and their doctors and seemingly no City, state or Federal regulation can prevent it.

On Thursday, September 23rd UNHP held the last in its mission-driven event series called What We Do: UNHP & Mission. The six What We Do events + the finale highlighted the unique ways we work to create and preserve affordable housing and bring resources to our Bronx community. Thanks to our many generous donors and sponsors it was also a successful fundraiser to help support our work.

"This is What We Do" is a series of events that illustrate the unique ways that UNHP works towards its affordable housing and Bronx community service mission as well as an effort to raise funds for that work through sponsorships and donations. Click on this post to learn about the events we have planned and how you can take part.

The penultimate event for UNHP’s What We Do event series ( and fundraiser) was a two-day virtual Bronx Nonprofit and Financial Empowerment Exchange. The Webinar provided an in-depth look at credit and its role in building financial stability as well as an opportunity for groups to share challenges and opportunities to help Bronx families and individuals move from housing and financial crisis to stability to financial growth.

As part of UNHP's This is What We Do series, The Northwest Bronx Resource Center (NWBRC) attracted over 50 participants to two Zoom and Facebook Live webinars, one in English and the other in Spanish, for NWBRC Program Users and Bronx residents. The Webinars provided detailed information about Covid Relief Programs that are available to those struggling due to the impact of the pandemic, including rent relief and funds for excluded workers.

On July 28th we continued our This is What We Do series by highlighting our annual Multifamily Lenders Meeting as an example of how UNHP uses research and action to accomplish its mission to preserve affordable housing. The meeting focused on multifamily finance, specifically, the role that banks play in ensuring decent, habitable affordable housing for Bronx tenants. Read here for a summary of the meeting and the presentation materials.

There is still apparently no agreement to restore the network relationship between United Healthcare (UHC) and Montefiore Health System. UNHP has learned a lot as we were faced with the loss of coverage for our staff about these issues and we remain committed to seeing that changes are made - this updated blog shares what we have learned and how we plan to move forward.

For the third event in our virtual series and fundraiser, This is What We Do, UNHP brought together 31 Bronx housing operators from 12 organizations to discuss the issues that affect the housing they oversee to understand trends and emerging issues that jeopardize affordability. It is also What We Do to escalate these issues and seek to address the policies behind the issues. Read the full summary to learn more.

In this, the second post of the Housing Connect series, we look at how our program users at the Northwest Bronx Resource Center experience the Housing Connect process.