For over 60 years, Selfhelp has been a leading nonprofit housing developer. Our purpose is simple yet profound: we strive to enable adults to age with dignity in the place they love most – their own home.

There continues to be a shortage of affordable housing in the greater New York City area, where more than one-quarter renters are age 60 or older. For older adults, the stress of unstable housing worsens existing mental and physical conditions. We believe that aging adults should never have to worry about being homeless so we “think big” to tackle the housing crisis.

What We Do

Selfhelp Realty Group | The Melamid Institute for Affordable Housing ensures that older New Yorkers have beautiful, safe, and affordable housing that fosters healthy aging. Our mission extends beyond building homes—we create vibrant communities where residents can access essential onsite services tailored to support their well-being.

From planning and developing state-of-the-art apartment buildings across New York City and Long Island to enhancing our existing residences, we bring innovation and thoughtfulness to every project. Our nationally recognized service model ensures residents receive the care and support they need, setting a high standard for housing for aging adults. With over six decades of experience, we proudly serve as a trusted resource to organizations nationwide, sharing our expertise to drive positive change. We also advocate passionately for increased local, state, and federal investment in affordable housing with onsite services, ensuring more older adults can age with dignity and independence.

We’re building more than homes; we’re building a brighter future for aging adults and their communities.

Aging on Pace

Our evidenced-based model, Selfhelp Active Services for Aging Model (SHASAM) provides the case management, health services, and educational programming each resident needs to age at their own pace.

Selfhelp Active Services for Aging Model brings a social worker onsite to provide the unique supports each tenant needs as they grow older at home.

What is Selfhelp Active Services for Aging Model (SHASAM)?

Onsite culturally competent social worker
Assistance with entitlements and benefits
Educational, social, and wellness programs
Aging services technology including the Virtual Senior Center
Referrals to local Older Adult Centers, volunteer opportunities, and services such as home-delivered meals, home care, subsidized housekeeping, mental health, case management
Services to promote the community and connection we all need to for health and well-being as we get age

SHASAM is an evidence-based program. Read more the white paper here: Healthy Housing: An Evaluation of Selfhelp Active Services for Aging Model (SHASAM)

A Place to Call Home for the Formerly Homeless

Selfhelp is a steadfast advocate for individuals transitioning from homelessness to stability. For almost a decade, 30% of the units in each of our new buildings are allocated for those exiting the shelter system. For the formerly unhoused, moving into a Selfhelp building signifies more than a roof over their heads—it’s the beginning of a new chapter filled with hope, security, and belonging. By integrating these residents into welcoming, vibrant communities, Selfhelp creates an environment where everyone feels supported and valued.

Selfhelp remains a trusted ally, showing that thinking big and acting with empathy can revolutionize how communities address homelessness.

Voices from Selfhelp Housing

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Our Affordable Housing Residences

Allan and Geraldine Rosenberg Residence

Freeport, Nassau County

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Wyandanch

Wyandanch, Suffolk County

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The Atrium at Sumner

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

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Helen R. Scheuer House

Our Story

For over 60 years, Selfhelp has been a leading nonprofit housing developer, starting with our first residence in Flushing, Queens for Holocaust survivors. This building included an onsite social worker to promote aging with dignity. This model of housing + services remains at our core today.

Our unique development approach is rooted in our longstanding work with Holocaust survivors, giving us the experience and understanding to meet every challenge.

The Melamid Institute for Affordable Housing serves as the primary entity for Selfhelp’s housing development projects. Named in honor of Holocaust survivor and philanthropist Ilse Melamid, the Institute will advance affordable housing policies and funding through advocacy opportunities, sharing our best practices and experience as a provider of affordable senior housing for more than six decades.

Meet Ilse Melamid

For Ilse Melamid, a Holocaust survivor, losing her home in Vienna during the Nazi era left a lifelong emotional scar and she wanted her legacy to increase access to housing for all older New Yorkers.