To the Editor:

All of us at Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP) want to thank the Princeton community for your outpouring of support, making our Fall “3 by Three” Rent Party a smashing success. Every contribution received helps HIP provide the support that families in our transitional housing program need to secure a better future.

We were thrilled to welcome surprise guest Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, who presented the evening’s honoree, longtime HIP supporter and Former Councilman Lance Liverman, with a congressional proclamation extolling his leadership on promoting affordable, accessible housing in our community.

The theme of the event, “3 by Three,” refers to HIP’s goal of adding three apartments to our transitional housing program over the next three years so we are able to expand the number of families we can help. Families come to us from living in their cars, hazardous buildings, fleeing domestic violence, or other dangerous or unlivable conditions. Over a period of one to two years, they work closely with our case management team and volunteers to improve their credit and finances, access opportunities for their children, and qualify for local affordable housing.

Over this past summer, we completed our first impact study where we went back and talked to program graduates from the past 12 years. We found that all are stably housed today. All are financially better off than when they started the program. And, all are working except one mom, who just had a baby and lives with her partner who is working. Several graduates told us, unprompted, how they now volunteer in the community because they were inspired by HIP helping them.

In addition to supporting our Transitional Housing program, proceeds from the event will also fund our Rental Assistance program, which helps scores of families living paycheck-to-paycheck stay housed and avoid eviction after unavoidable setbacks such as large car repair bills or loss of work due to illness.

We thank all of our corporate sponsors — Pinneo Construction, Faegre Drinker, Edens, Graduate Hotel, Kale’s Nursery, Winn Companies, Bank of Princeton, NJM Insurance, Lucy’s Kitchen, Avalon Bay, Penn Medicine, Hamilton Jewelers, Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty, Princeton HR Insight, Taft Communications, PSE&G, and Walsh Senior Solutions.

Finally, a super special thank you goes out to our absolutely fantastic party committee, co-chaired by Wendy Kaczerski and Lydia Pfeiffer, and including Sue Cameron, Becca Meurer, Suki Wasserman, Val Giguere, and Carol Golden. And to our wonderful staff: interim Executive Director Lori Troilo and volunteer coordinator Rae Padulo.

If you or someone you know is experiencing housing instability and needs our services, or if you have any interest in volunteering for HIP or learning more about the work we’re doing, we’d love to speak with you. Please visit our website for more information at housinginitiativesofprinceton.org or email us at info@housinginitiativesofprinceton.org.

Liz Lempert
Board Chair, Housing Initiatives of Princeton
Meadowbrook Drive