PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lana Irons, Psychiatrist working in domestic violence shelters
10:20:51
·
109 sec
Lana Irons, a psychiatrist working in domestic violence shelters in Brooklyn and Queens, strongly supports the City of Yes rezoning package. She argues that it will help address the critical shortage of housing for vulnerable populations, including her patients who are often mothers with small children fleeing domestic violence.
- Irons highlights the current difficulty for shelter residents to find permanent housing, with less than 10% success rate in some cases.
- She emphasizes that while the City of Yes is just one part of a broader housing policy, it is crucial for facilitating other aspects of housing solutions.
- Irons urges city council members to support the proposal to increase housing stock and help those in dire need of housing in the city.
Lana Irons
10:20:51
Hello there.
10:20:52
My name is Lana Irons, and I'm a psychiatrist who works in the domestic violence shelter system of Brooklyn and Queens.
10:20:59
The reason why I'm coming on here to speak today is because As a psychiatrist, I believe it's an ethical duty to speak up for the patients I work with.
10:21:08
Many of whom are mothers with small children who find themselves in some of the most terrible circumstances you can imagine.
10:21:15
In homeless, some of them many never been almost before and were there a primary concern being trying to find housing?
10:21:24
A couple years ago and over the past couple of years, this city council has increased city fab cell eligibility, as well as increase the amount of subsidy that is provided for these people, including my patients, to be able to use them to afford housing.
10:21:40
The issue is, is that many of them find themselves competing for very little for a very small amount of housing stock.
10:21:47
Leading them to stay in the shelter system, many of them not able to find permanent housing.
10:21:52
And in some in some statistics, less than 10% of those in the domestic violence shelter system end up in permanent housing after they're removed from the domestic violence shelter system.
10:22:03
So the reason why I'm coming on is to say yes.
10:22:06
I I completely support the city of yes.
10:22:08
It is a rezoning package.
10:22:10
So, of course, there's many different other parts of housing policy that needs to be addressed, but this part helps facilitate so many of those other parts.
10:22:18
It'll help out so many of my patients and so many people in this city who are in dire straits, who really need housing, and really can't find it because there is not enough housing.
10:22:29
So I highly encourage all the state council members to support this housing proposal in order to help build more housing to help out those who are in need in the city.
10:22:39
Thank you very much.
