Views from the Northwest Bronx

Got Questions? ASK UNHP / Pregúntale a UNHP Turns 5!

It’s hard to believe that ASK UNHP, our interactive bilingual monthly seminar, has turned 5!  ASK UNHP was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic as a temporary virtual initiative by the Northwest Bronx Resource Center (NWBRC) to keep the Bronx community informed about much-needed resources, including food pantries, COVID-19 testing sites, financial assistance, and new public resources, while stay-at-home orders were in effect. 

“What can we do to get information to people right away that’s immediate, reliable, and free?” This is the question that Jumelia Abrahamson, the Director of Programs for UNHP and the Northwest Bronx Resource Center, asked during a time of uncertainty amidst the pandemic. ASK UNHP emerged from the need to address this question and quickly became a space that worked to meet community needs. ASK UNHP is a monthly free bilingual Zoom webinar that shares information, answers questions, and provides housing and financial resources.  ASK UNHP also created a sense of community as users share their experiences and solutions.  Early on, the ASK UNHP webinars covered the emerging and existing resources specific to the pandemic and the resulting stay-at-home orders and financial disruption. UNHP webinars offered information on locating food pantry services, getting tested for COVID,  obtaining IRS rebate checks, applying for tax refunds, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), and the Advanced Child Tax Credit. Click here to read a summary of an early COVID webinar and the available resources.

Partnerships are integral to our work and have proved valuable as the NWBRC sought to serve Bronx residents during the pandemic. Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners (NTFP), a longtime partner with UNHP, transitioned to virtual financial counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud of our long-lasting partnership from 2012 to 2020, which brought over 700 of our program users towards financial stability through individual and group financial counseling. Pre-pandemic, NTFP offered a 5-week course to our clients, designed to help low-income individuals get ahead financially – graduates of the program were awarded $1,000 in COVID relief funds. This was part of NTFP’s collaboration with Humanity Forward to help identify families in need in the Bronx and distribute relief funds. Fordham Bedford Community Services is a valued community partner.  UNHP is grateful to FBCS for sharing its Refuge House community office with us for services and our hybrid ASK UNHP sessions. During the pandemic, UNHP worked with FBCS to offer virtual programming for their daycare providers and a financial aid workshop led by the Columbia University Financial Aid Office for the parents and students in their college preparation program.  Part of the Solution (POTS), another long-time community partner, was an important resource for our community as they continued to offer meals and food pantry bags for outdoor pickup during COVID.

ASK UNHP is the brainchild of Jumelia Abrahamson, UNHP’s Director of Programs.  She has led the bilingual Zoom webinar since the beginning, deftly providing and answering questions in both English and Spanish. One of the initial challenges of the webinar was helping our Bronx program users log in to and use Zoom. Not only was Zoom relatively new for personal use, but Bronx residents were on the other side of the digital divide, with a lack of steady Wifi, laptops, and the confidence to open links from their emails. “Clients were forced to become tech-savvy. A lot of people didn’t even use their emails pre-pandemic. While sheltering in place, they were being bombarded with information that was predatory and fraudulent. They didn’t know where to turn, in addition to being cooped up in a small NYC apartment.” ASK UNHP was a way for us to remain a trusted ‘open door’ source of face-to-face virtual information.

Working from our wifi remote phone system, Yadhira Marte and other NWBRC staff assisted Bronx residents with logging in. Now, after 5 years of ASK UNHP, even our senior citizens feel comfortable with the technology! The program remains popular, attracting 10-30 attendees per session, and has expanded to offer hybrid events. Since its start, ASK UNHP has served as a space to allow for open question and answer style conversation, a forum for guest speakers, and an overview of a variety of housing and financial topics, including first-time homeownership, applying to the NYC affordable housing lottery, NYC Rent Freeze program, setting long-term goals, budgeting, college planning, and banking. 

While initially starting as a way to meet the increased demand for critical financial services during the pandemic, ASK UNHP continues to be a vital resource for our Bronx community. Despite the more or less return to normal since the pandemic, ASK UNHP is a convenient and reliable platform to reach a large group. Over time, trust in UNHP has grown. Community members now feel comfortable turning to NWBRC staff to talk about household finances, personal goals, and housing concerns. That trust is exactly why ASK UNHP sessions matter so much. For many participants, these sessions are where they first learn about the steps they can take to move forward, making ASK UNHP an essential space for connection, guidance, and support. 

The current need has shifted from COVID response to connecting families and individuals with housing and financial resources. Some of the most popular sessions have been about Housing Connect and local housing lotteries, opening an avenue for UNHP staff to provide information about applications and connecting people to local financial partners. This past fall, a local low-income housing complex for senior citizens, Rose Hill Apartments, reopened its waiting list, and NWBRC staff were excited to share the news with our senior community members. Recent ASK UNHP sessions have focused on highlighting other local senior housing lotteries outside of Housing Connect and the opportunity to meet with Ariva’s Ready to Rent counselor for application support. Jumelia Abrahamson and Yadhira Marte, our Tenant and Financial Services Associate, discuss eligibility requirements, fielded questions, and set up appointments. UNHP and many of our program users have mixed feelings about NYC’s affordable housing lottery known as Housing Connect. Housing Connect is not a fast fix for those needing an apartment, and the number of applicants for units that serve households earning less than $50,000 is very limited and over-subscribed, receiving thousands of applications per unit. Even though being selected for an affordable unit through the lottery is very rare, the NWBRC is proud to share that 13 housing seekers assisted by UNHP in 2025 were selected for an affordable unit. 

The success of ASK UNHP is due in large part to our dedicated Northwest Bronx Resource Center staff. Jumelia and Yadhira work directly with the community to provide information and share resource opportunities discussed during ASK UNHP events and by our wonderful partner organizations. ASK UNHP often collaborates with local partner organizations that help us bring free and accessible technical expertise to the Bronx community. This expertise goes beyond the ASK UNHP webinars as well, connecting participants to professional services such as the 1:1 financial counseling program offered through partner organization, ARIVA. The service is available twice a week at the NWBRC and at certain special events. 

A Big thank you to the partners who have shared resources as part of ASK UNHP!  

• POTS
• Spring Bank 
• Apple Bank 
• Chase Bank
• ARIVA 
• Ridgewood Savings
• Fordham Bedford Community Services
• Columbia University Financial Aid
• Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners (Getting Ahead graduates) 
• NYC Commission on Human Rights 
• NYC Dept of Finance 
• NYC Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit
• Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union
• Valley Bank

Another reason ASK UNHP continues is that it provides an ongoing source of referrals to the free programs offered by UNHP and our partners at the NWBRC. When discussing programs and answering questions, it may come to light that someone is eligible for the NYC Rent Freeze, and an appointment for that service will be made while on the ASKUNHP call. More commonly, ASK UNHP users need to meet with a financial coach before going further with an affordable housing application or pursuing their dream of homeownership. ASK UNHP is a great first stop to understand what steps are needed to move towards the goal of financial and housing stability. Our NWBRC staff are then able to connect program users with other helpful housing and financial services and organizations, schedule an appointment for financial coaching, NYC Rent freeze, or eviction prevention 

Most recently, ASK UNHP partnered with ARIVA, a free tax preparation and financial counseling service based in the Bronx, to provide a bilingual webinar for small businesses. The October event focused on helping participants learn how to start a small business, create a business plan, and operate an LLC or corporation, thanks to ARIVA’s contribution. As per ASK UNHP’s usual format, it also offered an open-forum atmosphere for people to ask questions regarding housing lotteries, general housing questions, and financial literacy.

Reflecting on the past 5 years of ASK UNHP, we are thankful for the relationships we have built with other community-based organizations in the area and with the people who we serve. UNHP continues to make new partnerships that will provide access to important resources. To date, ASK UNHP has hosted over 45 sessions, been attended by over 700 people, and delivered housing and financial information to almost 400 households. We are excited to continue bringing financial awareness and technical assistance to the Bronx by connecting participants with even more referrals in 2026! Click here to register for one of our 2026 ASK UNHP sessions.  Join our Northwest Bronx Resource Center mailing list to get our monthly newsletter. ASK UNHP is usually held on the last Thursday of the month.