City Highlights Homeless Services Progress in Implementing Ambitious Five-Year Plan Initiatives

More than 175,000 individuals moved to permanent housing since 2002
Eighty-six percent of five-year plan initiatives complete

September 23, 2008–New York City Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Robert V. Hess today released a comprehensive report detailing significant progress in reducing street homelessness and homelessness among single adults and major transformations to the homeless system through the City’s five-year action plan, Uniting For Solutions Beyond Shelter.  More than 175,000 individuals—including men, women, and children—have moved to permanent housing under the Bloomberg administration.

"Innovative approaches and transformation of past practices have led to a system reformed, and the ambitious census reduction goals set forth in the plan demand even more progress," said Commissioner Hess.  "Eighty-six percent of the initiatives outlined in the plan are complete and we remain committed to doing whatever necessary to help as many people as possible in overcoming homelessness or preventing it in the first place."

"The goals of reducing homelessness by two-thirds were only one part of the plan," said Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, co-chair of the Five-Year Plan Committee and CEO of Safe Space.  "There were many other findings about what the City needed to do, and what they have accomplished in just four years is tremendous.  When you look at the full picture, DHS and the City are moving in the right direction."

The five-year plan outlined major changes needed to improve the adult and families systems, including the addition of prevention services, which prior to the Bloomberg administration was not part of DHS’ work.  DHS' efforts have led to undeniable progress in reducing homelessness among single adults, particularly in outreach to the chronically homeless. Since the baseline of the five-year plan in 2004, the number of adults living in shelter has dropped by 22 percent and the number of street homeless individuals has been reduced 25 percent. Outreach to individuals on the street has been revamped, and the Street to Home program now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all five boroughs. More than 850 individuals have moved from street to housing since the program’s inception last fall, and outreach teams are currently working with an additional 900 chronic street homeless individuals with the goal of moving to permanent housing.  Outreach services are tailored in order to be most accepted by those chronically street homeless individuals who are resistant to the traditional shelter system by offering lower threshold housing.  Over the past year and a half, 300 of these Safe Haven beds have been developed, with the goal of 500 online by year end.

While the families system faces challenges, a three percent reduction in adult families and a two percent reduction in families with children have resulted from the five-year plan. Most recently, numbers have been increasingly promising, with a 19 percent decrease in the past year of adult families in shelter on an average night, and from October 2007, to August 2008, a five percent decrease in families with children sleeping in shelter.  In spite of recent spikes in demand, the framework put in place by DHS has withstood the test, with families continuing to be effectively and humanely served.
 
One of the major accomplishments of the five-year plan has been the transformation of the family intake system – the success of which brought an end to 25 years of litigation and court oversight.  At the beginning of the Administration, homeless families faced an overcrowded and chaotic intake center. In the past, 150 families were forced to spend the night in chairs or on the floor at the family intake center.  Today, at the PATH center, which opened in November 2004, no family is forced to wait overnight in uncomfortable conditions while in search of shelter. While the intake processing time in 2003 was roughly 20 hours per family over multiple days, the application process, today, is completed in one business day.  Intensive support and services are available to clients throughout the application process and multiple safeguards like fair hearings are in place to ensure thorough and fair review of each family's application for shelter.

DHS has created and expanded homeless prevention services to never before seen levels. Beginning in 2004, the Homebase program started in six high-need communities, and after much success, expanded citywide. Since its implementation, providers have assisted 9,500 families in avoiding shelter and nine out of 10 clients receiving Homebase services successfully maintain housing in the community for more than a year.

In 2007 DHS launched Advantage New York, the most generous municipal rental assistance program in the nation. A year after its implementation, more than 5,000 families and individuals moved from shelter to permanent homes of their own. Of those continuing with the program, 88 percent remain employed, working an average of 35 hours per week. With a City-matched savings program, families are able to create a "rainy day fund", on average putting aside $500 in the first year.

Other initiatives in the five-year plan included efforts to coordinate city services, minimize disruptions to families who experience homelessness, minimize the duration of homelessness, and measure progress and evaluate success.

To find out more, download a copy of " A Progress Report on Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter: The Action Plan for New York City, Fall 2008. "