March 8, 2016
NEW YORK––Mayor Bill de Blasio announced over 30,000 New Yorkers are living in permanent housing and avoided or exited shelter through the administration’s newly created rental assistance programs and shelter exit pathways. New York City’s homeless prevention programs are continuing to help move families and individuals out of shelter and stay in their homes, serving over 107,000 individuals with prevention services, over 300,000 New Yorkers with emergency rental assistance and 10,000 households with legal services to remain in their homes.
“Stability in housing is of paramount importance to improving the lives of families who are struggling,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “By providing over 30,000 New Yorkers with rental assistance so they can avoid or exit shelter, we can help take a critical burden off their shoulders while saving taxpayers money. We continue to work with all our families and individuals to remain stably housed before shelter is their only option, and help them exit shelter to permanent housing.”
“Having a stable, affordable place to stay is a key part of addressing poverty,” said Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks. “For many, housing is the first step toward a better life, and I’m very pleased to see that our efforts to find homes for those in shelter, and to help those in danger of losing their homes avoid eviction, are taking hold. There is certainly more to do, and we will continue fighting as hard as we can to provide homeless and at-risk New Yorkers with the help they need to find and keep permanent housing.”
The City’s 90 day comprehensive review of homeless services began on December 15, 2015 and includes a thorough review of all of the City’s newly created rental assistance programs to find ways to further increase their effectiveness and ultimately help more families and individuals exit shelter to permanent housing.
Since January 2014 to the present:
Rental assistance programs to keep families in their homes and help those in shelter exit to permanent housing are both better for families and individuals and cheaper for taxpayers. After Advantage – the State and City’s rental assistance program supporting thousands of families – was cut, the City’s shelter population ballooned to 50,689 when Mayor de Blasio came into office. Since coming into office, Mayor de Blasio has aggressively worked to put new programs and measures in place to tackle homelessness.
Since coming into office, the de Blasio administration has been aggressively working to tackle and reduce homelessness by:
“Government’s first, best goal when serving the homeless is this: helping people get back on their feet,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “Programs like rental assistance and supportive housing are smart investments – investments that pay dividends as our fellow New Yorkers use that help to get their lives back on track.”
“The new rental subsidy programs have secured more than 30,000 New Yorkers an affordable home, and I hope their growing success will help further reduce the number of New Yorkers in shelter,” said Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi, Chair of the Committee on Social Services.
“Permanent housing and prevention services are how we will reduce the homeless population in New York City. The de Blasio administration is making concrete progress on these vital fronts,” said Council Member Stephen Levin, Chairman of the Committee on General Welfare.
“Today’s announcement underscores that permanent housing and homeless prevention initiatives are the key to getting tens of thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers back on their feet. The ability of the mayor and governor to join forces in order to increase funding for these essential programs is, without a doubt, crucial to diminishing homelessness in New York City,” said Mary Brosnahan, CEO of Coalition for the Homeless.
“Moving homeless individuals into permanent affordable housing is the primary route to solving the homeless crisis. It is a great accomplishment of Mayor de Blasio that over 30,000 people have left shelter for permanent housing with the City’s rent subsidies programs,” said Adriene Holder, Attorney-in-Charge of Civil Practice at the Legal Aid Society.
“I applaud Mayor de Blasio’s progress in helping individuals and families exit the shelter system into permanent housing, as well as assisting those who are at risk of homelessness so that they can stay in their homes. By strengthening existing programs and implementing effective new strategies, the administration is providing the kinds of wide-ranging services that are needed to tackle the homeless crisis,” said Mitchell Netburn, Chair of the Homeless Services United Board of Directors and CEO of Project Renewal.
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