Newsfeed Category: Network Events

Network Advocacy Day Set for March 18

Mar.06.2014

The Network will hold one last, big advocacy push in Albany on March 18 to impact vital supportive housing programs in the New York State budget.

Last month, our members joined Homeless Services United to hold nearly 60 meetings with members of the New York State Assembly, Senate and their staff. We used these meetings to advocate for increased funding for homeless prevention and supportive housing programs in the 2014-15 state fiscal year budget.

Our final advocacy effort on Tuesday, March 18 will offer us a chance to advocate for these issues one last time before the state budget passes on or before April 1. We encourage all of you to attend. To RSVP, please contact the Network’s Maclain Berhaupt at mberhaupt@shnny.org.

This year, we’ve focused our advocacy efforts on four specifics areas. First, we hope to achieve an increase to the NYS Office of Temporary Disability and Assistance (OTDA)’s Homeless Housing and Prevention services budget, which funds both the NYS Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP) and Solutions to End Homelessness Programs (STEHP). Second, we hope to save vulnerable State homeless programs threatened by sequestration. To do this, we’ve called on New York State to establish an emergency supplemental pool of funding at OTDA to help mitigate cuts to over 50 programs across the state.

Frank Lipton’s 2013 Gala Address

Oct.31.2013

Frank Lipton has left an indelible mark on the supportive housing community. The recipient of our 2013 Tim O'Hanlon Unsung Hero of the Year Award, Dr. Lipton has served for decades at the NYC Human Resources Administration. He delivered the following speech, one of the widest-ranging and most moving we've heard at our 2013 Awards Gala on October 16. With his permission, we've printed it here in full. For a greater picture of Dr. Lipton's contributions to supportive tenants and providers, see here. Transcript:

This is a wonderful honor. When I received Bill [Traylor]’s email informing me that Network was going to recognize me with Tim O’Hanlon’s Unsung Hero award, I had to read it twice as it was so poetic and inspirational that I couldn’t believe he was really talking about me. I was truly moved and began to go over the path that has landed me here tonight at Capitale, a great space where over the years I’ve had the good fortune of dining and dancing.

I cannot accept this award without first recognizing Mayor Bloomberg, HRA Commissioner Robert Doar and former Commissioner Verna Eggeleston, all of whom are signatories to the NY/NY III Agreement. I want to also recognize former Commissioner Bill Grinker who made the first NY/NY Agreement happen in 1990. Thanks Bill for being here tonight! And thank you Pat Smith, HRA’s First Deputy, for your ongoing guidance and support.

Network Holds Tenth Annual Awards Gala

Oct.21.2013

Ted Houghton introduces guests at the Network's Awards Gala. For more pictures from the event, see our Facebook page or scroll to the bottom of this article.

New York’s supportive housing community congregated once again last week for the Network’s tenth annual Awards Gala. Some 550 guests arrived at Capitale on Wednesday for a night to celebrate the outstanding individuals and residences of supportive housing.

Despite the federal government shutdown and a still-recent death in the supportive housing family, the mood was cheery at Capitale. The evening began with a 90-minute cocktail hour as guests arrived, mingled, sipped drinks and noshed on hors d'oeuvres. We made sure to give guests plenty of time to network, celebrate old friendships and make new ones.

The night culminated, as always, with our awards ceremony. This year, we awarded five remarkable individuals and two stellar residences. Richman Housing Resources President Bill Traylor began the ceremony with a quick welcome and a moving tribute to Alan Epstein, a Network Board Member who passed away last month. 

“We dedicate this night to the memory of Alan Epstein, a great friend and a great champion,” Mr. Traylor said. “Alan also loved a great party, so we have to party as well.”

Next to the stage was Network Executive Director Ted Houghton, who served as a master of ceremonies for much of the night. Mr. Houghton sought to reassure those assembled that the shutdown would not impact supportive housing’s established reputation in government.

Gala Honoree: Hill Street Inn

Oct.15.2013

Click here on tickets for information to our Gala!

Hill Street Inn is a standout on any number of levels: It suffered (and survived) one of the worst not-in-my-backyard battles in our community’s history; it provides homes to 20 individuals, most of whom never imagined they’d be living indoors much less have a beautiful home of their own; and it provides a gorgeous new resource for the Troy community. 

Hill Street Inn is emblematic of what supportive housing is all about: It has fostered a community within the residence and bolstered the community surrounding it.

For Joseph’s House and Shelter, the road has been a long one. The organization overcame neighborhood opposition and two lawsuits to build Hill Street Inn over the course of seven years. Now, with the building’s unqualified success as a safe, inviting addition to Troy, the initial pushback seems like a dim memory.

“We’re proud of this program for a lot of reasons,” says Kevin O’Connor, Executive Director of Joseph’s House. “The housing-first model works. Plus the building is beautiful and is really becoming a center for the community.”

Gala Honoree: Rick Lyon

Oct.14.2013

A new partner has emerged in the development of New York supportive housing.

Capital One, one of the nation’s top affordable housing lenders, has provided more than $86 million in specialized financing for New York supportive housing since 2008. The bank has helped finance five residences – from Common Ground, Fortune Society, Phipps Houses, Broadway Housing Communities and Providence House/Alembic Community Development.

Combined, these residences now provide 516 homes for formerly homeless or low-income New Yorkers.

Rick Lyon has been helping to lead this charge at Capital One. As Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Real Estate, Mr. Lyon provides financial services to the real estate development and investment community on behalf of the bank. He joined Capital One in early 2008; that same year, his leadership propelled the bank to increase its investment in supportive housing.

“Capital One shares the Network’s mission to invest in innovative, effective solutions to end homelessness and to increase access to affordable housing among our city’s most vulnerable populations,” says Mr. Lyon.

Gala Honoree: Shannon McEachern

Oct.11.2013

Click here for information on tickets to our Gala!

Before she even turned 30, Shannon McEachern had experienced life on the streets in New York, California, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina and Florida.

Ms. McEachern had no home and suffered from an unshakeable drug addiction. Across the country, friends offered her bus tickets and a place to stay. Each city held the promise of a new beginning. But with each city, the same drama unfolded: Her friends couldn’t live with the drug use, and so Ms. McEachern found herself roaming the streets, suitcase by her side, asking strangers for shelter. She’d steal cash for food and sleep in abandoned buildings. A Binghamton native, Ms. McEachern lived this nomadic life for 10 long years.

Those years, thankfully, are over. In 2012, Ms. McEachern moved into supportive housing from the YWCA of Binghamton and Broome County. She has since gotten clean, become a community volunteer and grown into an all-star housing advocate. 

“I stand in awe of Shannon,” says YWCA of Binghamton and Broome County Executive Director Carole Coppens. “Many of us with far more privilege don’t have the courage that this woman has.”

Ms. McEachern has blossomed into a capable, inspiring adult. She now meets with a case manager and vocational counselor to develop her newfound sense of confidence. She holds a part-time job at a local library and is working toward going to college for the first time.

Gala Honoree: Johanna Flores

Oct.10.2013

Click here for information on tickets to our Gala!

Johanna Flores bounced back in a big way.

Years ago, as a 19-year-old single mother in Tijuana, Ms. Flores was desperate to find a job to support her son. She met a man who offered her money to smuggle a suitcase full of diamonds from Mexico to New York. With hesitation, she accepted.

But it turned out that suitcase carried five kilograms of cocaine. Ms. Flores made this discovery at the JFK Airport, along with a swarm of police officers. She’d spend the next four years in prison.

More than a decade has passed since her arrest. Today, Ms. Flores is a full time employee of Hour Children, a college student, a housing advocate, a mother and a role model to formerly incarcerated women everywhere.

“At first all I did was cry. I wanted to die,” says Ms. Flores about her incarceration. “Then, one day I stopped crying and realized I had to face reality.” 

She learned English, took courses and worked at the prison nursery. But she still had no prospects after release: no friends, no money and no home. So when Hour Children, a nonprofit that provides housing and services to incarcerated women, threw out a lifeline, she grabbed it.

Gala Honoree: Frank Lipton

Oct.09.2013

Click here for information on tickets to our Gala!

Dr. Frank R. Lipton is the quintessential unsung hero. A key government partner at the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) for almost three decades, he has played an instrumental, behind-the-scenes role in the supportive housing movement. With little fanfare, Dr. Lipton helped to create the program design, referral and data tracking mechanisms that made supportive housing the successful, widely-replicated model it is today. Thanks to his service, thousands of formerly homeless and disabled New Yorkers have a home tonight. 

Dr. Lipton has been a constant behind New York’s historic New York/New York supportive housing agreements. He helped guide the design and passage of NY/NY I under Mayor Ed Koch and its ultimate signatory, Mayor David Dinkins. He helped usher in NY/NY II under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and then in 2005 was at the forefront again for a NY/NY III agreement under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. When all is said and done, the combined NY/NY commitments will have created nearly 15,000 supportive housing apartments – by far the largest supportive housing program in the country.

“Frank was a major mover and shaker in the creation of the first NY/NY Agreement, and he has remained a steadfast friend and advocate of supportive housing tenants and providers for the past 25 years,” says Tony Hannigan, Executive Director of the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS). “Our community has been truly fortunate to have the quality and dedication of his leadership during four administrations.”

Drawing on his academic and professional background, Dr. Lipton has been a vital source of data on the outcomes associated with supportive housing.

Gala Honoree: True Colors Residence

Oct.08.2013

Click here for information on tickets to our Gala!

True Colors Residence is quite literally one of a kind: The first – and only – supportive housing residence for homeless and runaway lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) young people AND the first New York supportive housing project associated with a genuine star. 

This trailblazing residence is the result of the fortuitous pairing of West End Residences and musical icon (and recent Tony-winner) Cyndi Lauper. Long an LGBT advocate, Ms Lauper helped raise funds for True Colors, which is named after her 1986 song and album.

“The True Colors Residence provides these young people with a real home and the leg up and encouragement that will help them make it in the world,” says Ms Lauper.

To the 30 young adults who live here, the residence is an oasis from life on the street, which can be especially treacherous for LGBT youth – who make up an estimated 40% of all homeless youth in NYC.

“When my family rejected me for being transgender, I remember asking myself, ‘Where am I going to sleep? What am I going to eat?’” says True Colors Residence tenant Trina Carter. “Now, here I am at True Colors Residence, a place to better my life. What else can I ask for?”

Gala Honoree: Jason Helgerson

Oct.07.2013

Click here for information on tickets to our Gala!

Jason Helgerson became New York State’s Medicaid Director in January 2011. We’ve never looked at Medicaid the same way since. Nowhere is this clearer than in the way the healthcare system now interacts with supportive housing.

Mr. Helgerson arrived to New York from Wisconsin, where he had helped that state save millions through reforms to its BadgerCare Plus program. His reputation – that of a consensus builder who found ways to both cut costs and improve the quality of care – attracted Governor Andrew Cuomo, who tapped Mr. Helgerson to lead the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), an initiative to transform New York’s Medicaid program.

The MRT has led to a total reassessment of how our public health system should care for the most vulnerable. Thanks to Mr. Helgerson, supportive housing is now a central part of this effort.

Through his leadership, New York became the first state to invest in housing to lower costs and improve outcomes for chronically ill and disabled people. Presented with research on supportive housing’s capacity to lower healthcare costs, Mr. Helgerson established an MRT Affordable Housing Workgroup to map out strategies to meet the needs of unstably-housed, high-cost Medicaid recipients. He also identified over $75 million in Medicaid savings that would be invested in housing each year.