Posted on February 2, 2022 by Zoë Johnson On February 2, 2022, the Coalition for the Homeless submitted testimony to the Fiscal Committees of the New York State Legislature on the 2022 NYS Executive Budget Proposal for Human Services. Our testimony chronicled the current state of homelessness in New York, highlighting the root causes of the crisis, and offered concrete budgetary and legislative solutions that the State Legislature should include in the final budget. There are more single individuals seeking shelter each night now in New York City than at any point since modern mass homelessness began, and many New Yorkers are at risk of homelessness as pandemic eviction protections expire. The fundamental cause of the homelessness crisis is the dire lack of affordable housing. Homelessness is a solvable and preventable problem. For example, a 2017 analysis found that rent supplements for homeless and at-risk households could reduce New York City’s shelter population by 80 percent among families with children and 40 percent among single adults in a decade, saving New York City about $316 million in its tenth year through foregone shelter costs and streamlined services. In our testimony, we recommended several budget and policy changes, including: Emergency Rental Assistance:Securing funds needed to fulfill all remaining Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) applications in 2022, including for NYCHA tenants.Requiring the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to direct local social service districts to issue rent and utility arrears grants, without requiring repayment, for the duration of the public health emergency and one year thereafter.Public Assistance:30-day Executive Budget amendments to remove all restrictions on State reimbursements to New York City for various rent supplements.Administrative adoption of shelter allowance schedules for families and individuals that equal current fair market rent levels.Legislation to raise the paltry personal needs allowances (as low as $45 per month) provided to individuals and families sleeping in certain shelters.State-Funded Rent Supplements:Approve proposed $100 million for rent supplements in addition to the $100 million provided last year at the behest of the Legislature.Provide Home Stability Support-type supplements as an entitlement for those who are homeless and those at risk of homelessness.Enact the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP).Supportive Housing:Approve the proposed $1.5 billion in capital and $110 million in operating appropriations for supportive housing in the final budget.Emergency Homeless Needs:Approve the $1 million proposed for emergency homeless needs that supports eviction prevention, crisis intervention, and emergency food distribution.Prohibit Shelter Savings and Shelter Rent:Repeal the NYC Shelter Savings law and prohibit Shelter Rent requirements.Re-entry Housing:Invest in the creation of a robust re-entry housing program to help the thousands of New Yorkers returning from prison into a state of literal homelessness, with additional capital and operating support dedicated specifically for this purpose. These critical investments are ultimately less expensive than the $69,846 annual cost of emergency shelter for each homeless family in New York City. This is literally a matter of life and death for the most vulnerable New Yorkers facing homelessness – the time to act is now. Read the full testimony here.
