Newsfeed Category: New York State

New York Finalizes State Budget

Mar.31.2014

The NYS Legislature has finalized and is expected to vote on its 2014-2015 budget within the next few days. Overall, the $138 million spending plan is a positive budget for supportive housing and is very similar to Governor Cuomo’s proposal submitted in January. It provides significant increases in capital funding for supportive housing development, large allocations of supportive housing service and operating subsidies for high-cost Medicaid recipients and modest increases to key supportive housing and homelessness programs like NYSSHP, STEHP and OMH Supported Housing. It also includes a 30% rent cap for persons living with HIV/AIDS in NYC and supports an OMH reinvestment fund to expand access to community-based services throughout the state.

To influence the debate on this year’s budget, the Network co-hosted an advocacy day in Albany with Homeless Services United (HSU) on March 18. More than 60 volunteers and staffers attended roughly 40 meetings that day with NYS senators, representatives and their staff. We argued for the very issues outlined below in these meetings. We’d like to thank everyone who participated in this advocacy day as well as the one we co-hosted in February.

We’d also like to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff, the Division of Budget, the NYS Senate (specifically Senator Avella, Social Services Committee Chair; Senator Young, Housing Committee Chair; Senator Hannon, Health Committee Chair; and Senator Carlucci, Chair of the Mental Health Committee), the NYS Assembly (specifically, Assemblywoman Titus, Chair of Social Services; Assemblyman Wright, Housing Chair; Assemblyman Gottfried, Health Committee Chair and Assemblywoman Gunther, Chair of Mental Health) 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.

Budget highlights of particular interest include:

Supportive Services RFA for Seniors Released

Mar.25.2014

In addition to yesterday's Request for Applications (RFA) from the NYS Department of Health (DOH), the agency has also released an RFA for the Senior Supportive Housing Services program. Applications are due May 15 with several additional deadlines throughout April. See below for an overview of the RFA.

Program Description

DOH is seeking to fund eight projects that provide senior supportive housing services to Medicaid-eligible seniors who are homeless, seniors who reside in the community and are at risk of nursing home placement or seniors transitioning out of nursing homes in the community who require long term care. Funding can be used for home modifications to make the living environment more accessible and/or services to allow the person to remain housed and live independently in the community.

Use of Funds

For purposes of this RFA, a senior supportive housing services project is defined as the pairing of capital assistance and supportive services within existing senior housing communities.

Capital assistance funding is available to increase accessibility features within existing units. Funding for new construction or gut rehabilitation of vacant buildings is not available through this RFA. Funding can also be used to develop and provide supportive services to residents in order to sustain the residents’ ability to remain housed, live independently in the community and to avoid unwanted institutional care.

Department of Health Releases Supportive Services RFA

Mar.24.2014

The NYS Department of Health (DOH) has just released Request for Applications (RFA) for the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Supportive Housing Nursing Home to Independent Living program.

Applications are due May 15 with several additional deadlines throughout April. Funding will support services and rental subsidies for high-need Medicaid beneficiaries. See below for an overview of the RFA.

Program Description

DOH is seeking to fund up to two innovative projects to provide supportive housing services -- including the provision of rental subsidies to seniors and individuals with physical disabilities who require a nursing home-level of care and who currently are homeless, reside in the community or in nursing homes or those who are at risk of nursing home placement. The funded projects will develop, implement and provide supportive services to participants in order to sustain the participants’ ability to live in the community independently, and to avoid unwanted institutional care. The funded projects will also develop and implement a system to provide rental subsidies on behalf of participants of this project.

Available Funding

DOH intends to award up to two contracts for a two-year term with no renewals anticipated. The total anticipated amount available for this procurement is up to $8 million (up to $4 million per year for two years).

MRT Supportive Housing Health Home Pilot RFA Released

Mar.11.2014

The NYS Department of Health (DOH) has just released the Medicaid Redesign Team Supportive Housing Health Home Pilot Project Request for Applications (RFA). DOH is seeking applications from supportive housing providers for funds to provide rental subsidies and/or on-site or community-based services to provide housing for homeless or unstably housed Medicaid members that are enrolled in New York State’s Health Home program.

Applications are due May 23 with several additional deadlines throughout March and April. See below for an overview of this RFA.

Program Description:

The intent of the Pilot Program is to identify best practices, procedures and methods for supportive housing providers to collaborate with Health Homes to:

• Identify and locate homeless or unstably housed Health Home members.
• Provide housing as a means to facilitate access to health services and improve the health status of Health Home members.
• Coordinate the efforts of the Health Home care manager and the housing specialist to implement the Health Home member’s plan of care.
• Provide an opportunity for providers and Health Homes to develop innovative services or methods to ensure that Health Home members remain stably housed.

Guest Blog: A Tenant Advocate Discusses His Day in Albany

Mar.10.2014

When Robert Hart awoke on February 11, he had no idea he’d be visiting Albany that day to tell his story to New York’s senators and representatives.

Robert is a tenant at The Castle, a transitional housing residence operated by the Fortune Society. Last month, Robert joined the Network, Homeless Services United and others for a trip to Albany to advocate for supportive housing programs. Other tenants and staffers from Fortune Society were scheduled to attend our advocacy day, and on a whim Robert asked if he could join. Everyone said of course.

Robert made quite the impression on those around him – everyone from our staff to the elected officials he met in meetings. He spoke of his experiences in housing and the services offered by Fortune to help him improve his reading and writing. He also read several poems he’d written, moving all those around him. As the Network gears up for its next big Albany advocacy day on Tuesday, March 18, we present a few words from Robert on his experiences in Albany. We encourage all of our members to reach out to their tenants to see if they’d like to attend our advocacy day on March 18. We’d love to have them join us. Robert, for his part, plans to attend again.

"My Trip to Albany," by Robert Hart:

It was a sudden and unexpected trip, but it was an experience of a lifetime.

What started as a joke question – “Can I go?” – quickly became a reality. There I was on a three-hour trip to Albany, not knowing what to expect. I had an immediate flashback to my trip to Washington when I was in junior high school. After the trip, I and my class had to write an essay about our experience in Washington. Because of my poor reading and writing at the time, my essay was never completed. That’s why this is a joy, to be asked to write a few lines about my trip to Albany. I finally have a sense of completion of my junior high essay.

As I walked into the building, I was in awe of how huge the building was. The first thing that got my attention was the beautiful statues and paintings in the building. It seemed as time quickly passed, I felt as if I became a part of the staff. At 6’5”, I felt that day so much bigger. Not like Robert Hart, the client at Fortune, but more like Mr. Robert Hart, team member and staff. I wanted so much to be a part of what was taking place that day in Albany.

I knew there was something I could say, about how Fortune has been a great asset to my life and others and how Fortune is a great organization to keep up and running, so I got up and took the floor.

Because of my inability to read and write through high school and my young adult years, I take special pride in the poems I put together. I learned creative writing from Fortune. They enhanced my writing skills.

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed my poems, there will be more to follow.

To read two of Robert’s poems, see here and here. For a rundown of our chief advocacy goals this month, see this story.

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.

Son House Apartments Opens in Rochester

Mar.05.2014

Partners and tenants gather for the ceremonial ribbon cutting at Son House Apartments in Rochester on February 24.

The first supportive housing residence for high-cost Medicaid recipients to open in New York State had its grand opening February 24 in Rochester. Called Son House Apartments in honor of the legendary blues musician Son House, who both made Rochester his home for many years and experienced homelessness, the residence will provide housing and supports to 21 individuals coping with both homelessness and medical or behavioral disabilities.

Son House Apartments was developed by Network member Providence Housing Development Corporation with the Office of Temporary & Disability (OTDA) Homeless Housing and Assistance Program Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Capital Funds Program. To date, HHAP has awarded MRT funding to six projects across New York.

The opening featured a number of luminaries, including NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner Darryl C. Towns, NYS Senator Joe Robach, NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation (HHAC) Vice President Brett Hebner and Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren.

“The true measure of city’s greatness must include a reckoning of how its citizens treat their most vulnerable neighbors,” Mayor Warren said. “As a place of both shelter and support for our homeless residents, the Son House Apartments project is helping Rochester rise to yet another level of greatness.”

Network Releases Report on NY/NY III Agreement

Feb.27.2014

The Network has released a new report on the New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement, the landmark 2005 commitment to create 9,000 new units of supportive housing in 10 years.

The report, available here, synthesizes findings from interviews with more than 140 members of the supportive housing community. Taking Stock of the New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement: A Community View of the Achievements and Challenges of Implementing the Nation's Largest Supportive Housing Initiative offers an in-depth look at the initiative and explores key areas for growth and improvement for the next great partnership between New York City and State to end homelessness.

"Taking Stock confirms what many of us have known for years: That the New York/New York III Agreement has been a phenomenal engine to house formerly homeless New Yorkers," says Network Executive Director Ted Houghton. "We hope this report will serve as an aid to the supportive housing community, our government partners and other stakeholders as we seek to build upon NY/NY III with a successor agreement. After more than 30 interviews and seven focus groups, we're confident in calling NY/NY III a resounding public policy success."

The Network interviewed an array of stakeholders for this project, including representatives from all 10 of the government signatories of the agreement, supportive housing and shelter providers, NY/NY III tenants, advocates and private sector partners. The goal of the project was to provide a platform for this diverse group of stakeholders to offer feedback on the successes and challenges of the initiative and to elicit their guidance on how best to design future supportive housing agreements.

HIV/AIDS Rent Cap Proposed in City, State Budgets

Feb.24.2014

Advocates from the HIV/AIDS and supportive housing communities are celebrating a long-awaited policy victory in New York City.

Last week, Gov Andrew Cuomo released his 30-day amendments for the 2014-2015 fiscal year budget. The amendments include new language to fix a rental assistance program for people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City. The governor proposes to place a cap on the amount of money these individuals must pay in rent. Under the amendment, tenants with HIV/AIDS can be charged no more than 30% of their annual income in rent.

This rent cap – advocated for years by our friends at VOCAL, Housing Works and other allies – represents a major victory for low-income and formerly homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS in NYC. NYC is home to 12,000 individuals with HIV/AIDS, many of whom pay up to 70 percent of their disability income toward rent.

The 30-day amendment comes on the heels of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget proposal earlier this month, which also included a 30% rent cap for HIV/AIDS tenants. New York City will pay for roughly $17 million, or 70 percent of the costs associated with this partnership; New York State will pay for the remaining 30 percent, or $9 million.

This policy fix will help prevent thousands of low-income New Yorkers from becoming homeless. We congratulate Housing Works, VOCAL and all our partners who’ve been on the front lines of this issue for years, and we applaud Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo for their action!

For a press release on all the governor’s 30-day amendments, see here.

Five Network Members Receive Funding to House Homeless Families

Feb.14.2014

In New York City, 70 homeless families will soon have access to housing and support services thanks to a funding announcement made yesterday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The State will award $1.75 million to five supportive housing nonprofits scattered across NYC. All five nonprofit providers are members of the Supportive Housing Network: Fortune Society, Odyssey House, Project Hospitality, Samaritan Village and Women In Need. This funding will support the creation of 70 units of supportive housing for homeless families struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol.

“Supportive housing programs are essential to breaking the cycle of homelessness for New York’s most vulnerable individuals and families,” said Gov. Cuomo. “These programs provide the vital support services necessary to help families maintain physical and emotional health, sustain healthy relationships and generally improve the overall quality of their lives.”

These funds are available through the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). They mark the latest round of funding through the New York/New York III Supportive Housing Agreement, a ten-year partnership between New York City and State to create 9,000 new units of supportive housing.