Network Newsfeed

Stephen Bates- Tenant of the Year

Oct.23.2018

Everyone who knows Stephen Bates is moved to tears by his story. He struggled with undiagnosed psychiatric issues from a very young age, issues that manifested as severe behavioral problems including stealing and skipping school. One of seven children, he was too much for his single mother to handle and she sent him to a group home when he was 14. He ran away and continued to act out, burglarizing homes, doing drugs, and stealing from his family. His mother threw him out of the house and he became homeless. He landed in Spofford Juvenile Jail not long after, the beginning of what would be twenty-two years of imprisonment.  

It was during those two decades that Stephen heard from his sister that their mother was gravely ill. Stephen was allowed to leave prison to visit her at the hospital. This visit, and his mother’s passing a few days later, changed everything; Stephen “made a promise to my mother, to myself and to God” to turn his life around.

When Stephen was finally released, he was able to start making good on that promise, first seeking out psychiatric treatment from Manhattan Psychiatric Center and later moving into Odyssey House’s Soundview Residence in 2014. Says Administrative Assistant and Entitlement Specialist Monica Tracey, “Odyssey House was truly blessed to have been graced with his presence…he is an amazing individual with a heart of gold.”

Since moving to Soundview, Stephen has focused his life on giving back. He volunteers at the Presbyterian Church across the street, pays for food at community gatherings, makes goody bags for local children, acts as DJ at summer barbecues, helps keep up the residence garden, and uses his thirst for knowledge to help residents with advice on a range of issues. Says neighbor Vivian Jackson. “He’s a good friend. If I feel upset or depressed sometimes, I go talk to him. And he does cookouts and we all meet to eat, dance and laugh. It’s very special.”

Not long after moving in, Stephen met the woman whom he has asked to marry him, Lynette Childs, who, showing off her engagement ring states simply: “He makes me the happiest person ever.”

Insisting that he does not want to be a “taker,” Stephen also got off SSI and holds down a job as a Home Health Aide. He is proud of his achievements, demonstrating how far he has grown from his younger days of hustling on the streets.

For overcoming a life of institutionalization, mental health challenges, and addiction, we are delighted to honor Stephen Bates as the 2018 Tenant of the Year.  

Watch Stephen Bates talk about his life in the video below. 

William Traylor- Network Legacy Award

Oct.23.2018

Few, if any, have contributed more to the supportive housing movement than Bill Traylor has. Bill’s leadership of the Network and his life’s work have been instrumental in providing thousands of vulnerable people the homes they need to rebuild their lives.

Bill began his stellar career more than 30 years ago at Catholic Charities, then spent a year as an organizer at St Nick’s Alliance before being asked by the Koch Administration to help create housing for the city’s most vulnerable homeless people. He helped imagine some of the first transformations of decrepit hotels into supportive housing including the Woodstock and the Euclid and played a leading role developing programs for new construction.

From 1994 through 2000, Bill was the Managing Director of the New York office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) overseeing the $1 billion New York Equity Fund as well as the office’s lending, grant making and programmatic activities.

In 2001, Bill joined The Richman Group as president of Richman Housing Resources and created its New York office.  Under his leadership, Richman has invested more than $3 billion of private equity into affordable housing developments containing nearly 18,000 New York City apartments, half of which have been supportive housing. 

Deeply committed to public service, Bill took a year’s leave from Richman in 2003 to help implement Mayor Bloomberg’s affordable housing goals, serving as HPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Development and HDC’s Interim President. 

In 2005, Bill helped form and joined the Supportive Housing Network of New York’s Board, where he served as Chair until 2017.

“Bill’s moral certainty and strategic wisdom have guided the supportive housing community for decades, even as he so generously ceded center stage to others. Bill’s leadership of the Network paved the way for the spectacular growth of supportive housing in New York and the nation,” states Ted Houghton, Gateway Housing Executive Director.

Broadway Housing Communities' Executive Director Ellen Baxter added: “It is Bill’s passion for the justice of supportive housing that has leveraged untold millions in capital and service financing from the private and public sectors. His financial and political acumen, vast network, respectful style, high intellect, and generous heart define this extraordinarily powerful leader in supportive housing.  Bill sees the dignity of all homeless people, and we who have learned and benefitted from his guidance will be forever grateful.”

Maria Torres-Springer - Government Partner of the Year

Oct.23.2018

Maria Torres Springer has hit the ground running since being named HPD Commissioner in January 2017. Just a few months earlier, the Mayor had announced the acceleration of his already ambitious 10 year housing plan Housing New York 2.0 which is now slated to create and preserve 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. And even more recently, the administration and City Council agreed to accelerate the new development portion of the City’s supportive housing commitment NYC 15/15, by developing 700 units a year instead of 500.

Already, Maria has made her mark: with her sterling record for building relationships among nonprofits, community leaders, private businesses and government, Maria has also overseen the launch of the Neighborhood Pillars program which provides financing to nonprofits to purchase older rent-regulated buildings and protect them from predatory investors.

And she almost singlehandedly helped accelerate NYC 15/15 with HPD’s support of Breaking Ground’s bid to turn a former Jehovah’s Witnesses’ hotel into 500 units of supportive and affordable housing. Breaking Ground CEO Brenda Rosen enthused: “Creative, bold, determined – Maria Torres-Springer embodies leadership. We are proud to work side-by-side with her and HPD to create the next generation of supportive housing.”

Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen says:“It is an understatement to say that developing permanently affordable supportive housing in the NYC market is tough – but Maria gets it done and does it by providing the leadership, strategy and sense of purpose and joy that is necessary to do this critically important work.”

HDC President Eric Enderlin adds “Maria is an inspiring leader who brings a powerful voice and a clear vision to her work tackling all sides of the affordability crisis and effecting the kind of positive change that will shape our city for generations to come.”

Before joining HPD, Maria had been the first female CEO of the City’s Economic Development Corporation where she had -- among many transformational projects -- overseen the re-imagining of Spofford, a former juvenile detention center in the Bronx as a hub for the arts and affordable housing. And prior to her time at EDC, Maria served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) where she spearheaded the administration’s efforts to raise wages and expand skill-building in workforce placement programs, as well as support women-owned and immigrant-owned businesses.

For her tireless commitment to improving the lives of New York’s disadvantaged, the Network is thrilled to honor Maria Torres-Springer as the 2018 Government Partner of the Year.

The Network: An innovation in supportive housing

Oct.18.2018

The Network was founded by some of the early pioneers and providers of supportive housing to be the collective voice of the community. It is now the largest membership organization in the country and has been instrumental in the growth of supportive housing across the state of New York. Watch the video above to hear the full story! 

Integration of people with psychiatric disabilities into community housing

Oct.17.2018

After massive deinstitutionalization prompted the creation of Office of Mental Health (OMH) transitional housing; community residences and treatment apartments with a time limited length of stay, a new need emerged.  Not every person in transitional housing was capable of graduating to totally independent living.   Additionally, many people who were discharged directly to the community were struggling to find safe, affordable housing.  OMH realized a need for permanent housing with supportive services. 

A few visionary OMH providers began to consolidate, or cluster supportive housing units into regular affordable housing, blending single supportive units with family housing.  Agencies including the Center for Urban Community Services and Community Access, were at the vanguard of this movement. 

In the mid 1970’s, Community Access bought an occupied building in Manhattan from NYC for $5,000,and began placing OMH supported tenants there, with supportive services provided by a grant from the state psychiatric center.  

“The OMH tenants reported that they never thought that they could live in a building with children and families.  At the same time, families appreciated the diversity and warmth of their shared community.”  Steve Coe, Chief Executive Officer of Community Access

In the early eighties the Center for Urban and Community Services, contracted with OMH through the NYC Dept of Health and Mental Health to provide services in mixed affordable settings, first at Broadway Housing Communities’ buildings and starting in the 90’s in Breaking Ground’s buildings.

According to CUCS’ President and CEO Tony Hannigan “There were so many indicators pointing to the need to integrate people with major chronic mental illnesses into community housing. Here it was the 1980’s with ever-growing numbers of homeless people, decades after mass deinstitutionalization and the promise of a community mental health system, and it still wasn’t happening.”  Additional state subsidy came from a one-time state initiative called the Special Needs Housing Fund.

Gradually the integrated model migrated throughout the state and agencies including Joseph’s House and Shelter in Troy, RUPCO in Kingston and Safe Harbors of the Hudson began mixing OMH units with community units.

NYS OMH took notice of these successes and ultimately embraced mixed development exclusively. The agency had been funding projects with a debt service model in collaboration with the Dormitory Authority. Mixed development and the expansion of the demand for supportive housing led to a deeper working relationship between NYS OMH and NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and increased understanding of supportive housing on the part of the state’s housing agency.  A set aside of Low Income Housing Tax Credits was introduced leveraging private investment in supportive housing.  The NYS Housing Finance Agency came on board and began to use 4% tax credits and bonds to fund larger, mixed development projects.  The Community Preservation Corporation played a major role in providing low interest loans to replace OMH capital in many of these early projects.

Later, on Long Island, Concern for Independent Living began mixed development focusing on homeless veterans in Liberty Village Amityville.  This building combined OMH housing and community units targeted to veterans and their families, providing a supportive living environment for both. As Executive Director Ralph Fasano notes, “People thrive in settings that offer community integration.”