For more than four decades, Part of the Solution (POTS) has grown alongside The Bronx communities it serves, responding to changing needs while remaining grounded in a vision established by its founders in 1982. That was to create a loving community and a network of support for New Yorkers facing hardship. Food assistance was the first expression of that vision, beginning with a soup kitchen, but POTS quickly recognized that helping people overcome poverty would require addressing the many challenges affecting their lives.

 

That understanding shaped the organization POTS is today. A food pantry opened in 1996, followed by a legal clinic in 2000 to help neighbors facing eviction and other challenges. Over time, POTS continued adding services addressing public benefits, housing, employment, education, personal care and other barriers to stability. Mentoring created opportunities for clients to establish longer-term goals, while showers, haircuts and other Dignity & Wellness services ensured that people facing hardship could access essential care with dignity.

 

That evolution has also made POTS a trusted resource during periods of extraordinary uncertainty. The organization remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as need surged across The Bronx. In 2025, the federal government shutdown and uncertainty surrounding food assistance once again left families concerned about their ability to meet basic needs. POTS responded with food, services, information and reassurance while advocating alongside partners for stronger solutions. The circumstances have changed considerably since 1982, but the ability to listen and adapt to what Bronx families need has remained central to the organization.

 

New and expanded facilities followed as the number of people seeking assistance grew. Today, POTS brings these resources together with its own methodology so that someone who first comes through its doors for groceries or a hot meal can connect with a broader network of support that improves their chances of finding a better future.

 

The scale of that work now reaches around 37,000 New Yorkers each year. In 2025, POTS’ pantry provided the equivalent of more than 2.8 million meals. Its legal team prevented 413 evictions, while case management and benefits services helped households access approximately $17 million in public benefits. Across the organization, these programs provide immediate relief while creating opportunities to address the underlying circumstances that can keep individuals and families in cycles of poverty.

POTS is now undertaking a major transformation built around an ambitious next step: scaling a model designed to help more families achieve lasting stability and intergenerational upward mobility. Central to that effort is the Stability Index, a methodology developed by POTS to track client progress across five interconnected areas: housing, finances, health, education and day-to-day essentials. It represents an important shift in how the organization holds itself accountable. Success cannot be measured only in meals provided, applications completed, or appointments held. POTS also wants to understand whether people’s lives are changing, and which strategies are most effective in helping them progress.

 

Decades of relationships and trust within the community provide the foundation for this next stage. With a larger team and expanded physical capacity, POTS will be able to bring its model to more families, strengthen coordination across services, and use the Stability Index to identify which interventions are most effective at helping clients make measurable progress.

 

After more than four decades, POTS’ ambition extends beyond increasing the number of people it serves. The organization aims to demonstrate what is possible when trusted community relationships, integrated services and meaningful measures of long-term progress come together to help families achieve greater stability across generations.

 

By testing and strengthening that approach in The Bronx, POTS hopes the lessons learned locally can eventually inform how other organizations and communities confront poverty beyond the borough.

 

In the decades of Norwood News documenting The Bronx, its coverage of POTS also provides a record of an organization that has continued to evolve alongside its community.  In the words of our executive director, Christina Hanson: “We are firm believers in the potential that resides in local communities, our ability to connect despite our differences, and the power that sharing our experiences has to effect positive change in society.”

 

She adds, “In the past decades of reporting our work and impact, we have been extremely appreciative of Norwood News for having kept the humanity at the center of its storytelling, giving people an opportunity to feel the heart of The Bronx.”

 

Christina Hanson is executive director of Part of the Solution and Diego Padilla is director of external relations and communications at Part of the Solution.

 

To read more about POTS, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,