HousingPlus honors founder Rita Zimmer

The annual Good Person Awards Celebration hosted by HousingPlus gathered 200 guests gathered at the Prince George Ballroom to honor its founder Rita Zimmer, who has spent over 40 years working to create shelter and homes for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Her focus has consistently been on women and families, especially women impacted by the criminal justice system, along with other groups that are disproportionately likely to experience homelessness, including veterans.

Honored alongside Zimmer at the event last month were four tenants who have resided in the housing she helped build, and three staff members who helped her create HousingPlus as it exists today. Shelby Webb, one of the HousingPlus tenants honored, said of Zimmer, “If you ask me one word to describe Ms. Rita, there are so many: genuine, compassionate, understanding ... without her, I don’t know where I might be today.”

During the evening, new HousingPlus CEO Karen Ford honored Zimmer by announcing that the next HousingPlus co-developed building in East New York will be named the Rita A. Zimmer House, which will have more than 70 units of housing for formerly homeless individuals.

“Rita will always be recognized,” said Ford, “She built HousingPlus from the ground up and leaves a lasting impact on the entire landscape of housing for our most disenfranchised neighbors.”

Ford joined HousingPlus in early May, stepping into the role as a proud Brooklyn native who dedicated her life to building stronger, more equitable communities. Ford brings more than 35 years of experience in housing and human services to the role. She most recently served as executive vice resident for Homeless and Support Services at CAMBA, and previously as the City of New York’s inaugural executive director for the Mayor’s Office for Nonprofit Services. 

The event also honors a special tenant or tenants of HousingPlus apartments who have made a significant contribution to the community. This year’s benefit raised nearly $400,000, which will go towards supporting HousingPlus as it continues to build units of permanent supportive housing as well as providing transitional housing for women leaving incarceration.

Founded in 2003, HousingPlus is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides community-based housing and comprehensive support services to women, including those with children, impacted by poverty, homelessness, trauma, addiction, and incarceration. HousingPlus empowers women to achieve stability and define meaningful goals for themselves and their families. The organization has earned top scores in 2023 and 2024 in the annual

Continuum of Care Evaluation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ranking first among more than 150 housing service providers in New York City. For more information, please visit housingplusnyc.org.