City finally agrees to new system of referrals to protect homeless adults from ¾ housing Posted on April 8, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER At a news conference yesterday, attended by Coalition’s Mary Brosnahan, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, and DHS Commissioner Robert Hess, the City announced that it would finally implement tougher guidelines for re ..Read More
Section 8 Devastation? Posted on April 6, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER Today’s New York Times reports that as many as 10,500 families who are currently receiving Section 8 may have their vouchers taken away. This would be absolutely unprecedented and devastating. The problem is a result of a funding shortfall of $45 mil ..Read More
No April Fools – Unemployment Benefits are Expiring for 46,000 New Yorkers Posted on April 1, 2010 by SARAH MURPHY This week, it is anticipated that as many as 46,000 New Yorkers – 23,000 in NYC – will lose their unemployment insurance. This news is truly devastating. So many of these men and women are on the brink of homelessness as it is. How long will it ta ..Read More
So where have the street homeless gone? Posted on March 29, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER According to the New York Times today, there is only one homeless man left in Times Square. …Really? So where have the street homeless gone? With street homelessness definitively on the rise according to the City’s own numbers, it is surprising, ..Read More
DHS Handshake Deals – No Deal for Homeless Families Posted on March 25, 2010 by MARY BROSNAHAN I attended Comptroller John Liu’s press conference this morning. He released a terrific audit showing how reliant NYC continues to be on ‘handshake deals’ to shelter homeless families. Over $150 million taxpayer dollars go into these agreemen ..Read More
State Restores Homeless Funding but City Facing More Cuts? Posted on March 24, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER Some good news out of Albany today: the Senate and Assembly have both restored the funding for New York City’s homeless shelters that Governor Paterson proposed cutting earlier this year. However, yesterday New York City Budget Director, Mark Page, s ..Read More
DHS and Advocates Agree – Gov Cuts will Hurt Homeless New Yorkers Posted on March 23, 2010 by SARAH MURPHY Today, in an unusual alliance, the Coalition, Councilwoman Palma, and Public Advocate De Blasio united with the Department of Homeless Services condemning the governor’s proposed cuts to homeless services — totaling $88 million for city shelters. A ..Read More
Results of DHS’s 2010 annual street homelessness count show that the numbers are up Posted on March 19, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER The Department of Homeless Services released the results of their 2010 annual street homelessness count today and not surprisingly, the number of street homeless individuals has increased since last year. According to their press release, “DHS estimates ..Read More
More Day Laborers Face Homelessness Posted on March 17, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER Day laborers are again in the news for the plight they face in day-to-day living and the significant portion of them who are homeless. Yesterday’s article in the Queens Courier illustrates the difficulties and also points out that not all day-laborer ..Read More