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ACMH Hosts Ribbon Cuttings for TWO New NYC Residences
Oct.08.2014
ACMH hosts ribbon cuttings at East 144 Street Residence in the South Bronx (left) and at Markus Gardens in Jamaica, Queens (photo credits courtesy of ACMH).
ACMH opened TWO supportive housing residences in September: the East 144th Street Residence in the South Bronx and Markus Gardens in Jamaica, Queens. The residences are part of NY/NY III and provide housing to a mix of individuals struggling with homelessness and behavioral health challenges and very low-income people from the neighborhood. And both offer housing options to young adults coming from institutional settings. Both openings also put tenants front and center quite literally. At both ceremonies it was tenants who stole the show at the podium and who held the classic giant scissors.
First came the South Bronx opening, September 12th -- some fifty well-wishers and partners gathered on a gloriously sunny afternoon to celebrate the completion of a new residence that will provide 42 apartments for adults and young adults with special needs and 18 apartments for individuals and families from the community (at 30-40% of AMI).
ACMH CEO and master of ceremonies Dan Johansson gave effusive praise to the teams who played a part – the team of housing staff at OMH; the team of housing specialists at Homes and Community Renewal; the teams at Bank of America, at the Bronx Borough President’s office, at Harden Van Arnam Architects and at Mega Contracting. Also celebrated were partners Richman Housing and Deutsche Bank. The Network too got a mention (thank you, Dan).
Canadian Study: for Every $10 Invested in Supportive Housing for Most Vulnerable, $21 Saved
Oct.08.2014
The Mental Health Commission of Canada followed more than 2,000 participants for two years and implemented a five-city supportive housing program using a Housing First (HF) approach using randomized control groups. This is the world's largest trial of HF to date. Housing First is an approach to supportive housing. Their final report was recently released.
The outcomes are impressive: investing in supportive housing for those with high needs saves money and leads to better longer term housing outcomes.
In the last six months of the study, 62% of all HF participants were housed all of the time, 22% some of the time, and 16% none of the time. In the control group ("treatment as usual"), 31% of participants were housed all of the time, 23% were housed some of the time, and 46% none of the time. The study also found out more about the small percentage of HF participants who were housed none of the time and developed ideas for additions or adaptations of HF that may work better for them.
For the highest needs users, the top 10% of those served, every $10 invested saved more than $21 in public costs. For moderate needs users, every $10 invested saved nearly $10 in public costs ($9.60 to be precise) -- so the costs of implementing this type of supportive housing were negligible for moderate needs users, and saved twice what they cost for higher needs users.
Liberty Village Opens in Amityville, New York
Oct.06.2014
Senator Charles E. Schumer and partners gather to cut the ribbon at Liberty Village, a supportive
housing residence for veterans and their families. Photo courtesy of Concern for Independent Living.
The fight to end veteran homelessness got a big boost on September 29th with the opening of Liberty Village, in Amityville, NY, a new 60-unit supportive housing residence for veterans and their families from Concern for Independent Living. Headlining the event was long-time project champion Senator Charles E. Schumer, having presided over the project’s groundbreaking in October 2012.
"This is great news for Long Island veterans, who willingly risked life and limb for our country," said Senator Schumer. “We overcame many obstacles to get here, but now 60 vets and their families will thankfully be provided with a comfortable place to live. I'm thankful to Concern for Independent Living for seeing this project to fruition."
MC’ing the event was Concern Executive Director and Network Board member Ralph Fasano who pointed out that Liberty Village is the first project of its kind and required “unprecedented collaboration among Federal, state and local leaders.”
That collaboration was obvious from the speakers list. Darryl Towns spoke on behalf of NYS Homes and Community Renewal, in addition to representatives from the NYS Office of Mental Health, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the County of Suffolk, the Town of Babylon, the Federal Home Loan Bank, Local Initiative Support Corporation and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center.
Nat Conigiliaro, a veteran of the Korean War, said “I feel like it was made for me…I want to dig a hole and put all my animosity, my homelessness, my scars, and bury it…This place is like paradise, it’s home.”
“Anyone with a home has neighbors,” commented Sgt. Angel Romero. “Here, at Liberty Village, I’m with my brothers and sisters.”
The Network Seeks a New Executive Director
Aug.22.2014
The Supportive Housing Network of New York seeks a dynamic executive director. The executive director leads a staff of eleven fulltime professionals and has the support of talented and engaged board of directors.
HCR Releases 2014 Unified Funding Round RFP
Aug.21.2014
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NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) has released its annual Unified Funding Round Request for Proposals (RFP) for its Multifamily Capital and Credit Programs. Those seeking funding must submit early round applications by October 7th and regular round applications by December 4th.