Network Newsfeed

NYS 2018-19 Budget and Supportive Housing

Apr.02.2018

The New York State SFY 2018-19 budget has passed. There are several areas of the budget that are important to the supportive housing community. Budget highlights of particular interest include:

5 Year Statewide Housing Program Funded Again

The final budget includes the re-appropriation of the $1.97 billion in capital funding for the state’s 5-year affordable and supportive housing program.  A portion of this capital funding supports the first 6,000 units of the Governor’s 15 year commitment to build 20,000 supportive housing units across the state.

The additional $124.5 million was also re-appropriated for service and operating expenses for the 6,000 supportive housing units.

Homes & Community Renewal Housing Trust Fund (HTF) & Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance (OTDA) Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) Flat Funded

The Legislature accepted the Executive’s proposal to flat fund the Housing Trust Fund at $44.2 million. HHAP is funded at the Executive’s proposal of $64 million, the same level as last year.

Services Funding Increased - OTDA Homeless Housing Preventative Services Budget

Service funding for the combined New York State Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP), Solutions to End Homelessness Program (STEHP) and Operating Support for AIDS Housing (OSAH) was funded at the Executive’s proposed amount of $36,781,000.  This is an additional $1.4 million increase over last year’s budget.

Office of Mental Health Housing Funding Increased

The final budget increased funds for supported housing and single residence occupancy programs by $10 million, as proposed in the Executive Budget.

Medicaid Redesign Team Supportive Housing Program Flat Funded

The final budget funded the MRT Supportive Housing Program at the same level as last year - $170 million over 2 years ($85 million annually).

Strong Nonprofits for a Better New York Workforce Enhancements Funded at $15 million

The final budget included $15 million for human services programs related to minimum wage increases. It is unclear how the increased funding will be implemented.  We are hopeful it will support OTDA funded programs.

As more information becomes available, we will keep our members updated. 

On behalf of the Network, we would like to thank Governor Cuomo and his staff, the Division of Budget, the NYS Assembly (specifically, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz, Housing Committee Chair; Assemblyman Hevesi, Social Services Committee Chair; and Assemblywoman Gunther, Mental Health Committee Chair) the NYS Senate (specifically Senator Young, Finance Chair; Senator Little, Housing Committee Chair; Senator Tedisco, Social Services Committee Chair; and Senator Ortt, Mental Health Committee Chair), and all of the staff in both houses who worked tirelessly to put this budget together. We deeply appreciate your continuing commitment to supportive housing. 

Celebrating the Year in Supportive Housing

Mar.16.2018

Network members gathered on the evening of March 15 at Scandinavia House for the Network’s Annual Meeting. Nonprofit providers, city officials, architects, developers, funders and other members of our community came together to meet, mingle and hear about the past year’s accomplishments.

Corey Johnson, the newly elected Speaker of the New York City Council, was our key note speaker, and addressed the 150 attendees in the room with a ton of enthusiasm, praise and support for supportive housing.

“You all know that housing really is health care. Until you put a roof over someone’s head, you cannot expect them to be sober, you cannot expect them to fight drug addiction, you cannot expect them to deal with chronic illnesses,” he said.

Speaker Johnson also reiterated his commitment to supportive housing and praised our members for their extraordinary accomplishments and work. He added that in the four years he’s been on the City Council he’s never even once received a single complaint about any of the supportive housing residences in his district.  

“Thanks to the amazing work done by you all, we’re changing the narrative of “not in my backyard to YES in my backyard,” he exclaimed to a cheering audience.  

The Network’s board chair and CEO of Breaking Ground, Brenda Rosen, kicked off the speaking program with warm welcoming remarks for the supportive housing community. “In the face of all obstacles, we remain steadfast and committed to our work,” she said. Executive Director of Concern for Independent Living Ralph Fasano presented the Network’s financials to the audience and the Network’s Executive Director, Laura Mascuch, shared the networks accomplishments over the last year.

Guests spent the evening networking, marveling at the beautiful new residences adorning the walls and showcased in a slideshow, as well as checking out a slideshow of photos from openings and other events from 2017. Catered by the incomparable City Beet Kitchen, the event once again reminded us how lucky we are to represent this stellar community.

Check out the evening highlights in our Faceboook photo album. 

Managing Conflicts and Challenging Behaviors: Resources from MH Mediate’s Dan Berstein

Mar.13.2018

Housing providers encounter many conflicts involving tenants. These include neighbor and roommate disputes, non-payment of rent, violations of community guidelines, and escalated situations related to aggression, substance use, or psychiatric symptoms. Even though these problems happen regularly, they are still stressful and uncomfortable to manage, especially when different staff members make different choices about how to handle them.  

Conflict resolution techniques can help housing sites develop consistent, effective approaches across the entire spectrum of conflict resolution - preventing problems, managing conflicts, and responding to escalation.

Most often, organizations seek support with escalated situations. The most common request I field from housing providers is how to prevent unnecessary 911 calls. Maybe staff could have done something differently before the tenant erupted into an aggressive act.  Are there some special de-escalation techniques we can use to diffuse these situations?

There is no single definitive right way to de-escalate. Every site has to look to its own values, policies, and population to figure out what is appropriate for them. But there is one universal best practice all housing sites can implement: planning ahead. Planning ahead reduces human error, removes the risk of biased intervention, creates consistency across staff, and – perhaps most importantly – helps staff feel comfortable implementing their interventions. Even though every site is different, they can all use the same planning template to develop their best practices.

The most important first step is clearly defining the behavior at issue.  That term I used before –“aggressive act” – is too vague. Ambiguous terms like “aggression” or “violence” can mean different things to different people so we have to specify the concrete behaviors involved, like “destruction of property,” “verbal threats,” “physical intimidation,” or “physical altercation.” Then we can draw clear lines of when to act and how to act in each situation. Do we call 911 whenever someone throws something, or does the tenant have to throw the object at someone? How long do we give someone to calm down on their own before we intervene?

When we plan for a behavior, we explore its entire life cycle. What are the specific early warning signs where we might be able to take a preventative action, like offering a gentle reminder of a community guideline? When is it appropriate, upon noticing someone raising their voice or engaging in conflict, for us to step in to de-escalate? What is the line where we know, for sure, that it is now time for an emergency intervention like the 911 call? Instead of making these decisions in-the-moment using gut feelings, we all do better when we invest time in creating behavior plans.

Conflict resolution practices can be even more powerful when we use them to prevent challenging behaviors from happening in the first place.  Housing sites can embed key values like fairness, self-determination, and validation throughout their internal cultures to reduce the likelihood of escalation.

One way to accomplish this is by providing resources for tenants to practice conflict resolution skills.  This can be done through on-site trainings, as part of skills groups, or through distributing self-help resources such as handouts and online programs.  Through these resources, tenants can practice vital skills that help them appreciate different points of view in conflict, engage in effective communication to understand everyone’s needs, and develop sustainable, realistic agreements that resolve conflicts. 

Another way to improve site culture is by adjusting staff talking points to emphasize conflict resolution values. Instead of saying, “that’s against the rules,” staff could say, “we can’t permit that because we don’t play favorites here - we treat everyone the same because we care about being fair.” Language shifts like this can begin establishing fairness as a community value and diffuse tensions before they escalate. 

Some conflicts will still happen. Most housing providers empower staff to act as formal or informal arbitrators supporting tenants in resolving their conflicts. Practicing skills such as demonstrating fairness and developing effective agreements can help them in these roles. 

MH Mediate has prepared a page of resources for SHNNY members including infographics building on concepts in this post. Members can also e-mail me at dan@mhmediate.com with questions any time.

Conflict Resolution Resources for SHNNY Members

Dan Berstein, MHS combines his professional expertise as a mediator, his academic background in mental health and public health, and his personal experience living with bipolar disorder to develop innovative trainings and services in the areas of conflict resolution, mental health communication, challenging behaviors, and accessibility to disabilities.  Through his company, MH Mediate, Dan has provided programs in over a dozen states to clients including housing providers and government agencies at the city, state, and federal levels. 

Dan is Vice Chair of the Diversity Committee of the American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution and the Program Consultant for the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center’s Dispute Resolution in Mental Health Initiative. He holds degrees from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Wharton School.

Supportive Housing Community Rallies For More Funding On Lobby Day

Mar.12.2018

March 6th marked the Annual Lobby Day for the supportive housing community. Over 120 supportive housing staff and tenants from 38 organizations made their way to the state capital to push lawmakers for more supportive housing funding in the state of New York.

Our legislative agenda was centered on the need to support adequate funding for new and existing supportive housing programs, and we are proud to say it was widely welcomed by the legislators who committed to moving the ball forward on our collective agenda.

More specifically the legislative asks included the following:

Add $20 million to the Office of Mental Health’s (OMH) housing budget to begin to rescue chronically-underfunded housing for 36,000 mentally ill New Yorkers

• Add $30 million to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) Homeless Housing Assistance Program
• Add $3.4 million to OTDA Homeless Housing & Preventive Services budget
• Support workforce enhancements recommended by Strong Nonprofits For a Better New York

We met with over 63 legislators and staff including face to face meetings with Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Housing Committee Chair; Senate Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco; Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, Social Services Committee Chair; Senator Liz Krueger, Assemblyman Al Taylor, Senator David Valesky, and Senator Catharine Young, Finance Chair.

Lawmakers also heard moving testimonies from supportive housing tenants who provided powerful personal stories to demonstrate the effectiveness of supportive housing.

“I have a one bedroom with a window and I love it. It’s a wonderful feeling to have a place and not wait for somebody to help you,” said Deborah Dickerson, a tenant of supportive housing to lawmakers.

A big thank you to all our members who made this such a successful and impactful day and to all the legislators who continue to champion supportive housing across the state of New York!

Check out our Facebook photo album for highlights of the day. 

Win Opens West 118th Street Residence

Feb.21.2018

Families, funders, city officials and friends gathered February 8th to celebrate the opening of Win’s West 118th Street residence, providing supportive housing to 34 formerly homeless single mothers and their children. The new residence is Win’s first single-site supportive housing in 20 years, adding to their portfolio of transitional and permanent supportive housing options serving over 4,000 people – the majority of them children. Win – formerly Women In Need – is the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing to homeless families and their children in New York City.

Win CEO Christine Quinn welcomed the crowd celebrating the building’s opening: “Women and children continue to be the forgotten face of New York City’s homelessness crisis.” She noted that the new building was not just providing homes to the 34 families who had recently moved in, but was helping end generational homelessness pointing to studies that indicate that a homeless child is twice as likely to be a homeless adult. She also noted that by lifting up at-risk families, the new residence would be saving lives, citing a grim statistic that homeless teenagers are three times as likely as non-homeless teenagers to attempt or commit suicide.

HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer congratulated the partners on the new building saying, "There are just far too many families who have to worry where they're going to sleep at night. We have to do more. We have to do better. We have to provide access, not just for a home, but a fresh start.  It is not just a professional obligation but, for all of us here, it is a moral obligation."

Assemblywoman Inez Dickens echoed those sentiments noting, "When you've lived on the streets for so long, you need help."

New tenant Aidibel Moreno's told reporters afterward that her new apartment is her sanctuary after years of being on her own in shelters and on the street.

"I was broken, now I'm so strong. Living in an apartment like this, it gives you identity because you feel like a person. You are living like a human being in a beautiful setting."

On-site services, including financial literacy, job training, work readiness, education counseling, and access to counseling are funded by the State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services.

Capital funding for the project was provided by HPD’s Supportive Housing Loan Program and from low income housing tax credit equity through the Richman Group.  OCV Architects designed West 118th Street and the J. Pilla Group was the contractor.