Our Results

At The Waterfront Project, we fight to keep New Jersey residents in their homes with dignity and legal protection.

Each year, hundreds of individuals and families facing eviction, foreclosure, or housing discrimination turn to us for help. We stand by them with legal advocacy, housing counseling, and critical support services that protect their rights and prevent homelessness.

Our team works across Hudson County and beyond offering stability, empowerment, and hope.

– 94% of clients receiving eviction defense services avoided immediate displacement

– Over 1,000 tenants supported annually through our housing counseling and legal clinics

– 75% of foreclosure cases resolved without losing the home

– 3,000+ families serves in 2024 alone

Why It Works

Every day in Hudson County, families and individuals face the devastating threat of housing instability from unjust evictions to foreclosure and predatory lending. The Waterfront Project helps people stay in their homes by offering legal services, housing counseling, and support navigating complex government systems.

Preventing homelessness is not only more humane. It's more cost-effective.

· The average annual cost to shelter a family in New Jersey: $41,136

· The average cost of eviction prevention services provided by The Waterfront Project: Less than $3,500 per client

Rather than reacting to crisis, we intervene early helping clients secure rental assistance, assert their rights in housing court, and negotiate with landlords or lenders before it’s too late.

We believe housing is a human right, and our services protect that right: one household at a time.

Saving Public Dollars

Preventing homelessness doesn’t just change lives. It saves public dollars. Early legal intervention keeps families housed and reduces strain on shelters, hospitals, and public systems.

Emergency Shelter (NJ)

Average Annual Cost per Household: $41,136

Correctional Facility (per person/year)

Average Annual Cost per Household: $66,000

Hospital Impatient (3 days)

Average Annual Cost per Household $11,550

Eviction Prevention (WFP)

Average Annual Cost per Household: $3,500

Success Stories

WFP attorneys stopped eviction of a former teacher who suffered a permanent brain injury as a result of a heart attack. We helped this client obtain rental assistance to pay off his arrears and negotiated a settlement agreement with their landlord providing sufficient time for the assistance to be processed.

We prevented eviction of two disables senior citizens, one with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, through a combination of legal representation and financial assistance. WFP attorneys negotiated a settlement agreement providing for payment of rental arrears and WFP's resource navigators worked with State agencies to fund a rental assistance grant.

WFP stopped an eviction of an elderly veteran with PTSD, whose landlord sought to evict him on the basis of false claims of disorderly conduct. We successfully established at trial that the landlord lacked sufficient evidence of its allegations.

For every $1 spent on eviction prevention, taxpayers save $10 or more in emergency system costs.