Enhancing Rental Assistance a Key Part of 5-Year Action Plan to End Chronic Homelessness

October 19, 2004 - As part of citywide efforts to end chronic homelessness, Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Commissioner Linda Gibbs, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Commissioner John Mattingly, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) General Manager Doug Apple, and Human Resources Administration First Deputy Commissioner Patricia M. Smith today announced an overhaul in the way housing support is provided in New York City and called for a new temporary supplement to 1) help homeless families and chronically homeless single adults leave shelter for permanent housing and 2) assist parents awaiting housing in order to reunify with children in foster care. The sweeping overhaul of rental assistance programs ends the policy of providing priority for Section 8 and public housing through the city shelter system, and redirects those resources as they become available to stabilize at-risk working poor households and those transitioning off public assistance.

“A cornerstone of our campaign to end chronic homelessness is creating a more effective citywide approach to rental assistance,” stated DHS Commissioner Linda Gibbs, referring to the five-year homelessness action plan, Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter. “With a targeted new re-housing supplement and a more strategic application of Section 8, we can help many avoid shelter, assist those in shelter to re-house quickly, and take another step toward reducing homelessness in New York City. With 36,500 individuals in shelter, and many more people entering shelter each and every day, it’s time for a new approach.”

The proposal to establish a new re-housing subsidy, called Housing Stability Plus, was sent to the state for consideration last Friday. The program is intended to offer a five-year subsidy to homeless families, chronically homeless single adults in shelter, and parents awaiting housing in order to reunify with children in foster care. Set at competitive market rates and decreasing in value by 20% each year, the subsidy promotes personal responsibility and self-sufficiency by emphasizing existing Temporary Assistance requirements that encourage individuals and families to seek and secure employment.

In 2002, the Bloomberg Administration prioritized ensuring that all Section 8 vouchers were fully utilized. The evidence of these efforts have been obvious in the family shelter system: in FY01, the city placed 1,738 homeless families into permanent housing with Section 8; in FY04, a record 4,648 families were placed. Now at full utilization with over 114,000 families, there is no longer an infusion of new vouchers to keep pace with re-housing demands from the family shelter system. At the same time, by making Section 8 available almost exclusively through shelter, families seeking the subsidy have been compelled to enter shelter in order to receive it – increasing demand for shelter as a result.

“This restructuring of rental assistance will help serve more low-income New Yorkers. It affords the opportunity to redirect both the Section 8 and public housing programs to serve more at-risk and working poor households,” stated NYCHA Chairman Tino Hernandez. “The city’s Section 8 vouchers are now fully utilized and there is a limited prospect of additional funding for new vouchers. The Mayor’s new program provides a winning approach to housing homeless families and low-income New Yorkers needing affordable housing,” he added.

As part of efforts to phase out the Section 8 and public housing priorities in shelter, the several hundred families that are currently in shelter and already certified for Section 8 or housing authority apartments will have until December 19, 2004 to use their vouchers and secure an apartment. Those families and chronically homeless single adults that do not already have Section 8 or public housing certification will be able to apply for the new supplement, pending state approval. DHS today began an aggressive campaign to educate shelter providers about the policy change, and to help those families with a Section 8 voucher move quickly to secure permanent housing.

“Today we begin a major informational campaign in shelters and at the community level to ensure families know about these changes, and, more importantly, about the resources available to assist them,” continued DHS Commissioner Gibbs. “This new approach will reinforce the city’s emphasis on prevention and housing stability as the solution to homelessness.”

In addition to helping those in shelter return to housing, Housing Stability Plus is available to parents whose only barrier to reunifying with children in foster care is the lack of suitable housing. "We are committed to ensuring that no family is prolonged in their separation because they have no home in which to reunify. We worked to ensure these vulnerable families were included in the program, because shelter is not place to reunify children and parents," stated ACS Commissioner John Mattingly.

Applicants for Housing Stability Plus must be in compliance with Temporary Assistance requirements to receive the subsidy, and must remain in compliance to receive the full five years of assistance. “Welfare reform established the principle that government’s role is to help individuals and families move towards self-sufficiency, through work participation wherever possible. We remain committed to this principle, and the proposal before the state is consistent with that message as it requires families and individuals receiving support to do everything they can to secure and maintain employment,” stated Human Resources Administration Commissioner Verna Eggleston.

Today’s announcement advances a number of initiatives contained in Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter, the action plan to reduce homelessness by two-thirds in five years. These include the coordination of rental assistance across all agencies, reducing incentives to enter shelter, prioritizing housing resources for chronically homeless individuals, developing permanency interventions for adult couples without children, and coordinating city services and benefits in child welfare collaborations.

Beginning in January 2005, the city will post monthly updates on progress and challenges associated with implementation of the action plan at www.nyc.gov/endinghomelessness.