A new program, Home4Good, is helping tenants behind on their rent stay in their homes by paying landlords the overdue back rent, saving them and the city from the cost of going to court.

It includes residents like Vivian Green, from Bushwick, who faced eviction after falling $2,500 behind on rent due to her mother's illness and passing.

"I thought I was going to be evicted because I couldn't come up with $2,500 unless I won the lottery," Green said.

Home4Good, created by her landlord RiseBoro, cleared her debt, allowing her to stay in her apartment -something she could not have done alone on a fixed income.

"We are finding seniors are more vulnerable because their spending is flat, but everything is going up," said chief programming officer Maria Viera, adding that one-third of all tenants in the program fell behind due to unexpected expenses.

"It was overwhelming. I thank God for that because I would have been out on the street," Green added.

The program is available to any landlord who applies or contacts Riseboro at Home4Good@riseboro.com.

"It's just a phone call to refer the landlord to us or any stakeholders to get them involved," Viera said.

Since its start, Home4Good has assisted over 200 Brooklyn families, paying out more than $1 million citywide.

Home4Good says a majority of the tenants helped were working families, with one-third being households with children.

Viera tells News 12 this approach is more cost-effective than housing court and actually gets landlords back money they are owed, as an eviction only guarantees the tenant is gone.

"Housing court is not the answer. [home4good] means more tenants are permanently housed, more landlords are not burdened with bills, and it saves costs for the city," Viera explained.

They say the current Home4Good program is a pilot they hope to expand further, with more city agencies helping to flag tenants, and more landlords able to buy into the program.