Common Ground News
an occasional message from your friends at Common Ground | Summer 2015
25 years, by the numbers
Happy summer, friends of Common Ground!  
 
Math classrooms across the city may be empty right now, but that doesn't mean numbers weren't being crunched this summer. Our data analysts have been tallying up the impact of Common Ground's housing and street outreach programs, on the occasion of our 25th anniversary this year.  
 
Since 1990, Common Ground has applied the most successful and effective strategy to address chronic homelessness, and the results are substantial.  
 
With the assistance of our many friends, staff, service partners, and donors, we have helped transform communities across New York City, beginning with Times Square. We have created 3,200 housing units and dramatically improved the lives of 12,000 people who were in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Through these efforts, we saved taxpayers $625 million.
 President & CEO Brenda Rosen

We invite you to check out and share Common Ground's 25th Anniversary Impact Report. The results we achieved are thanks to many of you. On October 22nd, we'll celebrate these milestones with supporters and friends and honor some very distinguished guests at our 25th Anniversary Celebrating Home & Community gala, including honorees Jamie Rubin, Commissioner of NYS Homes and Community Renewal, The Starr Foundation and Starr International Foundation, and architect Rick Cook.
  
We hope you'll be able to join us, celebrate your own contribution to these successes, and look forward with us to the next 25 years.

Recent news

BOARD CHANGES
Michael Franco replaces former board chair Jamie Rubin; Michael Ryan of Cleary Gottlieb joins board of directors.

Read more

BY THE NUMBERS
Common Ground's 25th Anniversary Report takes stock of our impact on homelessness in NYC in two and half decades.

JOIN US ON OCTOBER 22ND...
...to honor Jamie Rubin, The Starr Foundation and Starr International Foundation, and Rick Cook.

Common Ground in the media 

Fast Company covers the unexpected and effective use of "sleek design" in Common Ground's housing for homeless and low-income New Yorkers.  

Read more 

Design blog Inhabitat NYC showcases the "opulent" and "surprisingly reasonable" Prince George Ballroom, which recently celebrated its 10th year as a space for weddings, meetings, and film shoots. 

View the slideshow 

Tenants and staff enjoy Field Day
Tenants from various Common Ground residences bonded over water balloons and picnic lunches during the second annual "Field Day" outing in Central Park.

Our tenants rely on the social networks and support systems they find within and across our residences to maintain housing stability and improve their lives. Field Day perfectly illustrates how we work to foster these networks.  Thanks to Syncora Guarantee for helping put on this fun, healthy event.

Correction: in the August 17th email version of this newsletter, we thanked the wrong sponsor. It was Syncora Guarantee who generously provided both a monetary donation and volunteers to make this event possible. We regret the error.
  http://www.commonground.org | 212.389.9300