Advocacy

The Network advocates for public policy positions that advance the growth and effectiveness of supportive housing. Our staff and members produce ongoing research and analysis to affect policy and budget decisions at the local, state and federal level, while also leading and participating in timely campaigns that promote and protect supportive housing as the most humane and cost-effective solution to ending chronic homelessness. Our advocacy and policy efforts abide by our overarching priorities of:

Ensuring Sufficient Funding Levels for Supportive Services

The Network leads a statewide effort each year to ensure that all supportive housing units have adequate funding to provide supportive services to residents. Specifically the Network advocates for:

  • The SRO Support Services Program  Funded by the NYS Office of Temporary Disability and Assistance, the SRO Support Services Program provides counseling, case management and other essential services for residents of over 12,000 supportive housing units in New York State. The Network led a successful effort to increase funding by $3.5 million in the 2006-2007 state budget and is advocating for additional funds in 2008.
  • The SHFYA (Supported Housing for Families and Young Adults) program    Also funded through the NYS Office of Temporary Disability and Assistance, SHFYA provides similar services for residents of family supportive housing. The program was restored to the state budget in 2006-2007, and as a result of the Network’s efforts, was also doubled to $5 million. We are advocating for more funding in 2008.

The Network also advocates for rates to keep pace with inflation. As most supportive housing rates have remained stagnant, there has been an increased burden placed on providers serving people with high service needs – and at a time when they are tasked with taking harder and harder-to-serve populations. To that end, the Network:

  • Led negotiating efforts in implementing a long overdue Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for NYC supportive housing providers contracting with DHS
  • Successfully advocated for higher rates in the New York/New York III Agreement
  • Is currently advocating for parity with New York/New York I & II rates

Promoting Increased Capital Funding to Grow the Statewide Stock of Supportive Housing

The Network each year leads advocacy efforts to ensure that the government invests sufficient capital funds to continue the growth of supportive housing to meet the need. Currently the Network is advocating for:

  • Fully Fund McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance programs The McKinney Vento program provides capital, operating and services funding for supportive housing through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Each year the McKinney Vento appropriation must grow to cover the cost of renewing existing permanent supportive housing programs as well as adding new units. For 2007, the administration has requested $209 million to cover renewals and new units. The Network is leading the effort in New York for Congress to support this appropriation, and will support larger increases in the future.
  • An increase to the Homeless Housing Assistance Program HHAP provides $30 million to create permanent and transitional housing for homeless individuals and families. But the funding level has remained constant for most of the past 10 years, and thus produces a smaller number of units each year. This funding stream must be doubled, to $60 million, to meet the increasing need and new sources must be identified in order for supportive housing to continue to be a cost effective option for people inappropriately housed in shelters, adults homes, nursing homes, and for those leaving incarceration.

Advocating for the Systematic Linking of Capital, Operating and Services Funding

A successful supportive housing program requires three elements: (1) capital for bricks and mortar, (2) operating support to properly maintain the building, and (3) services for the residents. These three sources are rarely linked, causing providers to piece projects together haphazardly. The Network supports creating a permanent linkage among the various state and city agencies that operate these programs. This will remove the “patchwork” nature of supportive housing development and save money through shortened development timelines.

Promoting Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plans

The Network is currently a lead organization in two critical statewide housing platforms:

  • Housing First! is a broad coalition of affordable and special needs housing providers, banks, corporations community based organizations and philanthropies. As a lead organization, the Network helped craft and now promotes the HF! Platform. Read a recent article about Housing First!
  • The Campaign for Mental Health Housing is a coalition of special needs housing providers and advocates for people with psychiatric disabilities. It has called for the creation of 40,000 new units of supportive housing for people with psychiatric disabilities.

Advocating for Integrated Housing Models

The Network strongly supports integrated housing models for congregate supportive housing. Supportive housing buildings are an integral source of low-income housing in New York City – not just for those who are trying to break the cycle of homelessness, but also for those who are only one paycheck away or one hospital visit away, from becoming homeless. While supportive housing is primarily for formerly homeless individuals and families with various mental and physical barriers to living independently, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development has been developing integrated, supportive and low income housing for almost twenty years.

This model has shown that everyone benefits from opening up apartments to the low-income members of the community. Supportive housing tenants benefit the most because it provides them with healthy, employed neighbors as role models, a greater sense of independence being in a more stable community, and a less stigmatized home, but the community as a whole benefits when a non-profit can create permanent affordable housing apartments in their district.

To promote integrated supportive housing buildings, the Network has done the following:

  • Developed an eight-model plan to help guide the development of the 6,250 new congregate units in the recent New York/New York III Agreement.
  • Successfully advocated for State Office of Mental Health funded housing to expand opportunities for mixed-financing and more diverse populations.
  • Advocated for the continuation of Section 8 vouchers for low-income apartments in existing supportive housing residences.

Promoting Community Benefits through Supportive Housing

It is widely believed that supportive housing increases the market value of lower income neighborhoods, but it does more than that; it also creates jobs, decreases crime, and often times provides much needed community resources such as Head Start classes, GED and job training courses, art classes, etc. We advocate that our members:

  • Meet with community leaders to discuss the specific needs of that community. Examples include senior centers, day care facilities, fitness centers, etc.
  • Hire security, administrative, social work, janitorial and all other program and building personnel from the community.
  • Require a local hire provision with their general contractors to ensure the construction jobs go to local residents.

Maintaining the Integrity of Supportive Housing Buildings

The Network advocates for policies and programs that balance what is best for the tenants, providers, and neighbors of supportive housing. As the city struggles with how best to move people off the streets into clean, safe, affordable housing, the Network works to ensure that these strategies focus on the bigger picture as well – i.e. what is best for the tenants’ health, stability and growth; financially and legally sound for the non-profit providers; and most beneficial for the overall community.

Ensuring Government Policies Promote Tenant Health and Independence

The shrinking pot of federal funding has led to various state policies that, while trying to fix one problem, have created much larger, social and fiscal problems. Policies to help house low-income and disabled New Yorkers should not come at the expense of their health and independence. The Network has actively spoken out against two such policies:

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