Doe Fund Resident Honored as Tenant of the Year

Kenny Alvarez is no stranger to adversity. A veteran who served in the Marines for five years, he first experienced homelessness when he moved to New York City in 2012 to pursue graduate studies, only for the internship he had secured to fall through. Alone in Manhattan without family or friends to rely on, Kenny found himself homeless and vulnerable. Soon after, a severe panic attack landed him in a VA hospital for three weeks. Upon his release, he was again left without a place to stay. Over the next few months, he traveled back and forth among various shelters, ranging from—in his words—”somewhat comfortable to downright dangerous.”

In 2013, a social worker spearheaded Kenny’s admission to A Better Place, one of The Doe Fund’s permanent supportive housing residences. In addition to secure individual rooms, the residence provides three meals a day, programming activities designed to rebuild lives and establish community, and crucial social services. Kenny, who is HIV positive, recalls that the decision to live at A Better Place was “an offer he couldn’t refuse.” After experiencing life at other facilities, the warm and welcoming staff created a sense of familiarity, comfort, and closeness.

Seven years later, Kenny has reason to celebrate: he was just honored as “Tenant of the Year” by the Supportive Housing Network of New York, which represents over 200 nonprofits that develop and operate supportive housing across the state. Kenny will be a major feature in the organization’s upcoming virtual gala, and SHNNY has sent videographers to capture his story on film for the event.

Kenny is grateful to the entire staff at The Doe Fund for the care and compassion he is shown on a daily basis, but specifically thanks Yolanda Jones, the Program Director of A Better Place, for consistently keeping an “open door” policy. Onetime strangers have become friends and neighbors while living there together, and Kenny is grateful to have a safe environment to call home—especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As far as being selected as SHNNY’s statewide Tenant of the Year, Kenny remains “shocked and stoked.” In 2019, he was also voted Tenant of the Year within A Better Place. Kenny hopes that those experiencing homelessness remain hopeful, and that they consider reaching out to The Doe Fund—where he knows from his own journey that they will be given the time, space, and resources to grow and thrive.

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure, in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Kenny is the hero in not only his own story, but one to all of us here at The Doe Fund.