Showing Posts by Date: 01/2014
01.30.2014
{main_body:excerpt}01.27.2014
We’ve seen a terrific number of pieces on the success of supportive housing and the housing first model over the last few weeks. Most of these stories have focused on recent successes outside of New York, from Utah to Arizona and elsewhere. Below, you’ll find links to this roundup of positive press.
Nation of Change: This piece on supportive housing in Utah has received a staggering 397,000 likes (and counting) on Facebook!
New York Times: The Grey Lady reports on a milestone in the effort to end veteran homelessness in Arizona. The paper refers to the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program as the “backbone” of the federal government’s effort to eliminate homelessness among veterans.
Think Progress: Numerous publications also covered the end of veteran homelessness in Arizona. This Think Progress piece has garnered more than 24,000 Facebook likes.
Boing Boing: This popular blogging site follows up on the Nations of Change piece. The post has received nearly 2,000 Facebook likes to date.
Slate: Influential columnist David Weigel highlights Utah’s effort to cut chronic homelessness by 74% through supportive housing. The piece has more than 6,000 likes on Facebook.
WyoFile: This Wyoming-based nonprofit news outlet argues that supportive housing is a humane, fiscally responsible investment. “By giving [homeless people] a roof over their heads instead of a hospital bed or jail cell,” the article concludes, “Wyoming communities can show that they are both compassionate and good stewards of public funds.”
| Press01.22.2014
Governor Andrew Cuomo released his fourth executive budget yesterday, and it is an extremely positive one for supportive housing!
The SFY 2014-15 Executive Budget Proposal provides major infusions of new capital for supportive housing development, large allocations of new supportive housing subsidies for high-cost Medicaid recipients and modest but significant increases to key supportive housing programs like the NYS Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP), Solutions to End Homelessness Program (STEHP) and NYS Office of Mental Health Supported Housing.
The Network would like to thank Governor Cuomo and his staff, the Division of Budget and all of our State agency leaders who worked tirelessly to put this budget together. We deeply appreciate your continuing commitment to supportive housing. We are confident the Legislature will also share the governor’s commitment to provide safe and secure housing for some of our most vulnerable citizens. The Network and its members will do our best to help secure passage of the budget in the next few months.
"This is a budget that shows a serious commitment to housing and supporting some of New York’s most vulnerable citizens,” says Network Executive Director Ted Houghton. “We are particularly pleased with the massive $260 million, two-year allocation for the DOH Medicaid Redesign Team Supportive Housing Program. This investment of State dollars will provide a stabilizing foundation of affordable housing and supports that will be particularly effective when the federal government approves the State’s waiver application to transform its Medicaid program.”
Budget highlights of particular interest to supportive housing providers include:
MRT Supportive Housing Fund: $260 million (over two years)
The executive budget funds the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Supportive Housing Fund at $260 million over two years. The budget allocates $100 million for SFY 2014-15 and $160 million for SFY 2015-16. This marks a $14 million increase from last year’s funding level. This fund will continue to provide service funding, rent subsidies and capital dollars to create supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients. The MRT Affordable Housing Workgroup will work with State agencies to determine the most effective and efficient way to spend these funds on housing-based interventions to improve care and reduce Medicaid spending. Specific program recommendations for the allocation plan will be drafted and finalized in the next few months.
Homeless Housing Prevention Services Program: $30.3 million
The executive budget KEPT WHOLE the Homeless Housing Prevention Services Program that funds NYSSHP, STEHP and the Operational Support for AIDS Housing Program. This funding will keep all existing supportive housing and homelessness prevention programs whole at the baseline of last year’s final adopted budget level. We would like to thank the governor’s office and the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) for their support for this critical services and operating program. We will ask the Legislature to increase this funding further to fund new supportive housing programs opening up this year.
Homeless Housing Assistance Program: $63 million
The executive budget proposes to DOUBLE the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP) capital development program for supportive housing from last year’s level of $33 million. This is the first time HHAP has ever been doubled; the program has remained constant at approximately $30 million over the past ten years.
01.14.2014
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After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the US House and Senate Appropriations Committees yesterday released their budget for the 2014 federal fiscal year.
This budget provides significant relief to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs from the harmful effects of sequestration cuts. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funding rose by 9%, which should minimize cuts to existing programs in next year’s Continuum of Care competition. This increase will have no impact on the 5% of programs that are on the chopping block in the current round of funding, however.
Both tenant-based and project-based rental assistance (Section 8) were increased in this budget. These programs, thankfully, will be funded above pre-sequester levels. The budget aims to avoid having any current tenant lose an existing voucher.
This is a substantial improvement over the sequestration budget levels. Overall, however, the budget remains a tight one. It will probably take a couple of months before New York State, the City and other localities know the exact program funding levels they will receive from HUD.
Continue Reading … | Funding, Federal01.13.2014
(lefto to right) NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli and First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris.
New York City’s 109th mayor has taken office. Following a campaign in which he regularly cited affordable housing as a key issue facing NYC, Mayor Bill de Blasio has begun the day-to-day work of running America’s largest city. The de Blasio administration continues to take shape as the mayor appoints deputy mayors, commissioners and other key officials. Many of these new appointees will have a direct impact on supportive housing and homelessness.
Key figures in the new administration so far include:
Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. In a symbolic break from her predecessors, Ms. Glen will explicitly include “housing” in her job title. She arrives at city government by way of Goldman Sachs, where she served for 12 years as the Managing Director of the Urban Investment Group, an entity that offers investments and loans in underserved neighborhoods. Prior to that, she served as Assistant Commissioner for Housing Finance at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). She is deeply familiar with supportive housing, having served on the board of CSH.
In her new position, Ms. Glen will oversee all economic development and housing-related city agencies, including HPD, the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC), and the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA). Ms. Glen said in a statement: “We can’t remain the greatest city in the world when half of New Yorkers are living in or near poverty. We can do so much more to lift people up by investing in our neighborhoods, especially in the outer boroughs. Mayor de Blasio and I share the same vision. We believe in tough bargains that get the most out of every dollar we invest. And we believe that, with the right policies, we can raise the floor on workers’ wages, develop and preserve more affordable housing and give families a shot to make it here.”
Ms. Glen also served until recently on the Boards of Directors for Network members BRC and Enterprise Community Partners. Her appointment has been praised by members of the nonprofit and private sectors alike.
“Alicia Glen brings an unparalleled commitment, tenacity and a hefty dose of experience from the public and private sectors to helping the most underserved neighborhoods across New York,” said Terri Ludwig, President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners.
Continue Reading … | New York City01.13.2014
Advocates, government officials, formerly homeless youth and others gather to map out ways to lower the number of NYC homeless youth on December 10, 2013.
Some 70 stakeholders working to end youth homelessness congregated on December 10 to map what resources NYC has and what it lacks to address the needs of homeless young people. The day-long work session, hosted by Robin Hood and led by the Youth Committee of the NYC Coalition on the Continuum of Care (CoC), brought together representatives from nine different city, state and federal government agencies; youth outreach, drop-in, housing and service provider organizations; homeless youth advocates and foundations; and most importantly, a number of young adults who had experienced homelessness themselves.
The forum was brilliantly facilitated by Abt Associates, courtesy of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its continued provision of technical assistance experts to New York City.
While there is no comprehensive count of the number of homeless youth today, previous counts and a recent pilot count point to thousands of runaway and homeless youth in New York City, most of whom have no access to crisis, transitional or permanent housing. Further, in a survey of homeless youth conducted in January 2013, the findings showed that NYC youth aren’t temporarily homeless but staying homeless for a disturbing average duration of 927 days. The findings also showed, as with most other recent research, that the majority of homeless youth had been in foster care and/or the criminal justice system and nearly half lacked a high school degree.
Continue Reading … | New York City01.10.2014
Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his fourth State of the State address in Albany earlier this week. While the governor focused much of the address on tax relief and other economic issues, there was some news of interest to the supportive housing community.
Governor Cuomo’s speech affirmed the continuation of the House NY plan with a $100 million commitment for affordable housing. This funding will create and preserve 3,500 units of affordable housing across the state. For renters earning less that $100,000, the governor also proposed a renters’ tax credit. This policy could help prevent homelessness if it takes into account high-rent burdens, particularly for extremely low-income families. The governor also renewed his commitment to streamline the grant reimbursement process for nonprofits through the Grants Gateway program.
In light of New York’s declining prison population, the governor proposed the creation of a re-entry council to help avoid recidivism through job training and other social support services. The governor would direct $15 million to this effort. The Network will advocate for the inclusion of a supportive housing strategy as part of this initiative.
Continue Reading … | New York State01.09.2014
The Network is deeply saddened to report the passing of Robert Hess, former Commissioner of the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Mr. Hess passed away on Christmas Eve after being diagnosed with liver cancer in 2013. He was 57 years old.
As DHS Commissioner from 2006 to 2010, Mr. Hess oversaw a period of great change and experimentation, despite a major recession and multiple fiscal challenges. During his time at DHS, the agency reduced the number of long-term shelter stayers and people living on the streets by nearly half. Mr. Hess also worked hard to improve and expand homeless families’ and individuals’ access to rent subsidies and permanent housing.
“Rob Hess was among the best of DHS commissioners,” says Tony Hannigan, Network Board Member and Executive Director of the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS). “In addition to completely reorienting street outreach services to prioritize chronically homeless people, he also implemented a design for accountability, including performance-based contracting, that ensured the job got done. Commissioner Hess truly cared about homeless people.”
“Rob Hess transformed DHS and homeless services in New York City by demonstrating that even the most intractable problems are in fact solvable,” says George Nashak, Executive Vice President at HELP USA. “The best example of this was his leadership on street homeless services. Rob invented safe havens and reengineered the street outreach contracts so that we were moving street homeless clients indoors at a pace that had never been seen before. I will miss him enormously.”
A U.S. Army veteran and Baltimore native, Mr. Hess came to fight homelessness in New York after witnessing the scourge of veteran homelessness. For 16 years, Mr. Hess ran a chain of thrift stores for the Baltimore chapter of Disabled American Veterans. Encountering firsthand the appalling number of homeless veterans in America, Mr. Hess committed the rest of his career to ending homelessness.
Continue Reading … | New York City01.08.2014
NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) has announced the winners of its early Unified Funding Round awards. HCR funded ten projects with a total of $9.8 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). This amount represents more than one-third of the $26 million available this year. The agency also allocated more than $12 million in funding through the Housing Trust Fund. This amount equals roughly 40% of the total amount available. The Network expects that at least $3.4 million in LIHTC awards remain to be allocated under the supportive housing set-aside during the regular round, with awards expected to be announced in the spring.
You can read the full list of awardees here.
This early round prioritized shovel-ready projects, which included supportive housing for veterans with special needs or affordable housing that reserved up to 20 percent of its units for persons with developmental disabilities. The latter projects were supported by the NYS Office for People with Development Disabilities (OPWDD).
HCR funded one supportive housing project through its priority to house veterans. Concern for Independent Living received $1.275 million in LIHTCs for its Ronkonkoma project, which will include 30 units of veteran supportive housing in a 59-unit, mixed-use project. Several Network members were also involved in other early-round projects as either developers and/or service providers: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany, Dunn Development Corporation, Housing Visions, Independent Home Care and Providence Housing Development Corporation.
We would like to congratulate all of our members who were successful in this year’s early round process.
| Funding, New York State