Proven Solutions
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We can end the homelessness crisis.
By stabilizing people through shelter, moving them into permanent housing, and
implementing assistance programs to keep them in their housing, we can not only reduce, but
eliminate, homelessness in New York City.
Right To Shelter
For people without a place to sleep at night, shelter from the elements can be a matter of life and death. The Right to Shelter established by the Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid Society is a vital legal protection for homeless individuals, families, and children. Without this crucial safeguard, people who lose their homes would be left with nowhere to sleep but the streets, subways, and other public spaces, at severe risk of injury or death from the cold, heat, and vulnerability to physical violence.
When modern homelessness first emerged in the 1970s, tens of thousands of homeless New Yorkers were left to fend for themselves on our streets. At that time, hundreds of homeless people died each year, many from hypothermia and other cold-related injuries.
In 1979, the founders of Coalition for the Homeless brought a class-action lawsuit, Callahan v. Carey, against the City and State of New York. The case, which was brought on behalf of homeless men, argued that a constitutional right to shelter exists in New York.
The lawsuit pointed to Article XVII of the New York State Constitution, which declares that “the aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state and by such of its subdivisions….” Article XVII was adopted by New York voters in 1938, in the midst of the Great Depression, and has provided a vital protection to impoverished New Yorkers ever since.
In August 1981, after nearly two years of intensive negotiations, the lawsuit was settled with the signing of the Callahan consent decree, enshrining New York City’s legal right to shelter for homeless men. Two years later, the Coalition brought another lawsuit, Eldredge v. Koch, which extended the right to shelter to homeless women. And that same year, the Legal Aid Society brought a right-to-shelter lawsuit, McCain v. Koch, on behalf of homeless families with children, which was finally settled in 2008 in Boston v. New York.
The Right to Shelter protects tens of thousands of homeless New Yorkers every day. The fundamental legal protections won in Callahan v. Carey and subsequent cases ensure that individuals and families in need have access to shelter from the elements as they regain stability in their lives and seek permanent housing.
Housing-Based Solutions
Since modern homelessness began in the 1970s, research and experience have overwhelmingly shown that investments in permanent affordable housing are extraordinarily effective in reducing homelessness — as well as being cost-effective.
Many of the most successful policies designed to address the homelessness crisis — in particular, permanent supportive housing for homeless people living with mental illness and other disabilities — were pioneered in New York City and have been replicated throughout the country and the world. Countless peer-reviewed studies have consistently confirmed that long-term housing assistance not only successfully reduces homelessness, but it is also less expensive than shelter and other institutional and emergency care. Proven solutions include:
- Federal housing assistance: Federal housing programs are one of the most successful solutions to mass homelessness. The two largest federal housing programs are public housing and federal housing vouchers, known as Housing Choice Vouchers or Section 8 vouchers. Housing vouchers allow low-income households to rent modest market-rate housing of their choice, and provide a flexible subsidy that adjusts with the family’s income over time. Studies show that public housing and federal housing vouchers are highly successful at reducing family homelessness and in ensuring that these families remain stably housed and out of the shelter system.
- Permanent supportive housing: Pioneered in New York City in the 1980s, permanent supportive housing has now proven to be an extremely successful and cost-effective solution to homelessness for people with mental illness and other disabilities. The supportive housing model combines affordable housing with onsite support services for the residents. Numerous studies have shown that permanent supportive housing costs less than other forms of emergency and institutional care, and that it saves $10,000 per year for every person placed in supportive housing. The landmark 1990 City-State “New York/New York Agreement,” which has been renewed twice, is the premier example of a permanent supportive housing initiative that successfully reduced homelessness in New York City and saved taxpayer dollars that would otherwise have been spent on costly shelters and hospitalizations.
- “Housing first”: Another proven solution developed in New York City and replicated nationwide, as well as in cities around the world, is the “housing first” approach, which builds on the success of permanent supportive housing. The “housing first” approach involves moving long-term unsheltered individuals — the majority of whom are living with mental illness, substance abuse disorders and other serious health problems — directly into subsidized housing with no strings attached, and then offering them support services either on-site or in the community. The majority of homeless individuals moved into “housing first” apartments remain stably housed and experience significant improvements in their health and wellbeing. Much like permanent supportive housing, the “housing first” approach is less costly than emergency and institutional care, such as shelters, hospitals, and correctional facilities.
The fundamental cause of mass homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. In New York City, that lack has increased significantly over the past decades, which have seen the loss of hundreds of thousands of units of affordable rental housing. At the same time that housing affordability has worsened, government at every level has failed to develop policies that create housing for those who need it most. To address New York City’s historic housing crisis, the Federal, State, and City governments must significantly increase investments in affordable rental housing targeted specifically to homeless and extremely low-income families and individuals. Similarly, strengthening tenant protections would preserve affordable housing and ensure that more households don’t fall into homelessness.
Prevention & Stability
The best way to reduce homelessness is to prevent it.
There are several programs that have been proven successful in preventing homelessness for low-income families and individuals. One successful approach is to provide eviction-prevention grants to help tenants at risk of becoming homeless pay back rent and remain in their apartments. As rents continue to rise and earnings for workers at the low end of the pay scale stagnate, more of our neighbors find themselves facing eviction. The overwhelming majority are working families who fell behind in their rent after experiencing sudden medical costs, a death in the family, or loss of employment. Providing financial assistance for rental arrears helps potentially homeless families stay in their apartments.
Another successful approach to homelessness prevention involves legal services for low-income tenants in housing court. Housing courts and the legal system in general can be extremely intimidating, even more so to families and individuals under financial stress struggling to make ends meet. Before NYC passed a Right to Counsel law in 2017, more than 90 percent of tenants in housing court did not have legal representation, while nearly all landlords did. While the law guarantees that all low-income households in housing court should have a lawyer, the shortage of lawyers under the program means that thousands of tenants are being effectively denied their right, and so are facing eviction.
Prevention also involves policies and programs that help vulnerable people who fell through the cracks of government bureaucracies. For example, effective discharge planning that includes housing assistance can help youth who are aging out of foster care, low-income people living with mental illness who are leaving hospitals, or people exiting correctional institutions, avoid homelessness.
Once they have moved into permanent affordable housing, many formerly homeless families and individuals can benefit from support services to help maintain housing stability. This can include services like job training, child care, and community-based counseling services. More fundamentally, enhancing housing stability for poor and low-income renters involves broader policy changes including living-wage jobs, access to affordable health care, and adequate public benefits for people living with disabilities.
Eviction Prevention
The Coalition for the Homeless has an Eviction Prevention Program which does cover rental arrears. In order to qualify, you must be in court and have a signed court stipulation.
To schedule an appointment, you must call the Eviction Prevention Hotline at 212-776-2039 on Wednesday mornings beginning at 9:30 am.