Recent Accomplishments

Every year, the Network engages in a host of budget, policy, advocacy, research, training and green-housing activities. Below, you'll find a list of our most recent accomplishments. 

Increasing Resources

In 2011 and 2012, the Network worked with the Governor’s special commission on Medicaid Redesign to ensure that supportive housing was an essential part of the State’s plan.

  • As part of the State’s Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Affordable Housing Workgroup, the Network successfully advocated for an MRT Supportive Housing Development Fund in the State budget. In 2012, the Fund provided $75 million to develop and subsidize services in permanent supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients., including  accelerating production of delayed NY/NY III supportive housing units and creating new supportive housing for high cost Medicaid users across the state.
  • The Network worked with the NYS Department of Health on the State application for a Medicaid Waiver that includes $150 million a year in investments to supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients.

The Network also worked with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the NYC Housing Authority on HPD’s plan to double supportive housing production.

Protecting Funding

NY/NY III:

  • The Network continued to work closely with City and State funding agencies to ensure inclusion of sufficient NY/NY III services and operating funding in both the 2011 and 2012 State budgets.
  • In 2012, Network and member agencies led NYC’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration to include funding for HASA’s remaining NY/NY III units in its 2012 budget.

NYSSHP:

  • In 2011 and 2012, the Network and its members fought to restore full funding for services through the Supportive Housing Program at OTDA. After hundreds of legislative visits, tours, letters and calls, the agency restored virtually all of this funding in 2012.

HASA:

  • In 2012, the Network and its members worked with City Council to restore $7.2 million in services funding for supportive housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. The Network and its members secured a similar restoration in 2011.

Converging Stakeholders

The Network holds three large-scale annual events: an advocacy day, an awards gala and a conference. In 2012, each of these events broke all previous attendance records:

  • The New York State Supportive Housing Conference drew 1,200 attendees for a day that included 22 workshops and major announcements from City and State officials.
  • The Awards Gala attracted 550 friends to celebrate the people and institutions that make supportive housing work in New York.
  • The Advocacy Day in Albany mobilized more than 100 volunteers to attend 58 meetings with elected officials and their staff.

The Network also:

  • Cosponsored seven sessions of the Managing Lean & Green workshop series.
  • Held standalone workshops across New York State on bed bugs, service delivery and other issues of relevance to the supportive housing community.
  • Convened a working group of all eight nonprofits that provide NY/NY III “Pop I” supportive housing for young adults who aged out of foster care.

Providing Assistance

As part of its Development Barriers Project, a three-year initiative to identify and diminish barriers to swift and cost-effective supportive housing development, the Network:

  • Authored or co-authored four reports: Identifying Efficiencies: A Study of HPD Supportive Housing Development Costs, The Effect of Community Outreach Requirements on Supportive Housing Development, Understanding Systemic Delays and Barriers to Building Supportive Housing in New York City and A Survey of Common Spaces in Supportive Housing.
  • With members, worked with HPD to fine-tune HPD’s new Supportive Housing Design Guidelines.
  • Helped providers navigate the financing, construction and approvals process in less time and at less cost.
  • Provided individualized assistance to members seeking to gain community acceptance for new residences, having helped more than 40 organizations collectively site more than 3,000 units of supportive housing since 2007. In 2011, the Network published Building Support for Supportive Housing, a siting manual and toolkit now available online.
  • With partners, authored Building Futures, a report on the opportunities and challenges associated with developing family supportive housing in NYC.
  • Assisted providers with meeting new sustainability criteria for maintenance and development.

In addition, the Network:

  • Teamed up with the Association for Energy Affordability, to invest over $15 million in federal weatherization funding toward making more than 2,600 units of supportive and special needs housing more energy efficient.
  • Enrolled 1,600 units of supportive housing into the Con Edison Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program.
  • Launched a conservation education program for tenants and staff.
  • In collaboration with members, worked with NYC’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) to simplify and speed contracting policies
  • Launched its new website in late 2011, which features member and tenant profiles, videos, comprehensive research and an all-new Funding Guide.