New York, NY – After hundreds marched on Gracie Mansion demanding more housing for the homeless, the Coalition for the Homeless responded to the latest from City Hall: Statement From Giselle Routhier, Policy Director at Coalition for the Homeless: “Helping 100,000 New Yorkers avoid or exit homelessness in 5 years is a laudable achievement and highlights the crucial role that vouchers play in any comprehensive plan to address homelessness. During the same period, however, this effort dwarfed the other essential component needed to solve homelessness: the creation of new affordable housing units. Fewer than 5,000 people exited shelters to housing built or preserved specifically for homeless individuals and families in the “Housing New York” program — not nearly sufficient to fulfill the Mayor’s objective of “turning the tide” against homelessness. The depth of this crisis requires that we use all the tools available – including Mayor de Blasio’s signature housing program producing a housing supply sufficient to meet the scale of the problem and get New Yorkers out of homelessness and back on their feet.”
