PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Gina Cappuccitti, Senior Director of Housing Access and Stability Services at New Destiny Housing, on CityFHEPS Program
1:59:11
ยท
3 min
Gina Cappuccitti from New Destiny Housing testified on the CityFHEPS program, highlighting its issues and recommending improvements to better serve domestic violence survivors and prevent homelessness. She emphasized the need for extended shopping letter periods, changes in eligibility requirements, and addressing landlord payment issues.
- Recommended extending shopping letters to 1 year instead of 4 months
- Suggested changing income requirements, implementing exception payment standards, and eliminating work requirements for survivors
- Proposed allowing direct access to HRA for voucher holders and landlords to streamline the process
- Highlighted the need to address landlord payment issues to improve CityFHEPS' reputation
Gina Cappuccitti
1:59:11
Good afternoon, committee chair Ayala, members of the city council, and council staff.
1:59:15
Thank you for holding this oversight hearing on the city program and the opportunity to testify on behalf of New Destiny.
1:59:21
My name is Gina Capochiti, and I'm the senior director of housing access and stability services at New Destiny.
1:59:27
Our mission is to end the double trauma of abuse and homelessness among domestic violence survivors.
1:59:32
For 30 years, we've been solely dedicated to permanent housing for survivors.
1:59:37
We are also a coconvenor of the family homelessness coalition.
1:59:40
Why
Diana Ayala
1:59:41
do we
Gina Cappuccitti
1:59:41
do this work?
1:59:42
Because domestic violence is the leading cause of family homelessness in New York City.
1:59:47
And with so few housing options available, survivors are more likely to move from shelter to shelter instead of into housing.
1:59:53
I oversee New Destiny's housing navigation program, helping survivors find safe homes they can afford.
1:59:59
Many survivors we work with have CityPEP's vouchers.
2:00:02
As such, we have firsthand knowledge of the program's issue areas and the opportunities for improvement.
2:00:07
First, we would like to recommend that shopping letters be extended to 1 year.
2:00:11
Currently, shopping letters provide only 4 months to find housing.
2:00:14
While this should be enough, with various bureaucratic delays already mentioned and a record low vacancy rate, it rarely is.
2:00:22
In addition, as others have mentioned, section 8 has demonstrated best practices, which we encourage city pups to adopt in establishing program eligibility.
2:00:31
We would recommend the following changes.
2:00:33
Number 1, changing the maximum income requirement to 50% AMI instead of 2 200% federal poverty level.
2:00:40
Number 2, implementing exception payment standard ZIP codes.
2:00:44
3, eliminating work requirements or offering work exemptions for survivors and other opportunities for waiting periods before losing eligibility after loss of employment, and eliminating the reliance on shelter and home based providers to manage the voucher process by allowing voucher holders to access their shopping letters on access to HRA directly rather than relying on providers, allowing landlords or brokers to submit packages directly to HRA, and preserving the, eligibility for survivors, who exit to homelessness, without, without securing housing.
2:01:22
Finally, New Destiny recommends addressing issues impacting reliable payments to landlords.
2:01:27
This directly affects CityFEP's reputation and our collective ability to convince landlords to accept it.
2:01:33
Landlords do not perceive the program as reliable compared to section 8 due to history of nonpayment from each right.
2:01:40
I will close with just one note of a client that was directly impacted by the failings of CityVap's eligibility.
2:01:47
This is a client who is mother of 1 and a survivor, trained as a medical professional.
2:01:53
She had to lose leave the workforce due to domestic violence and, faced eviction with the city shop shopping letter in hand.
2:02:00
Due to multiple delays at Homebase, she lost out on units and ended up going into shelter.
2:02:07
Because of her lack of employment, she was not found eligible for city pups.
2:02:11
We were able to secure her a section 8 voucher through a temporary stability voucher referral program, and she was able to move into her apartment last month.
2:02:19
If it were not for that program, she would still be in shelter languishing because she would not have been eligible for city fives.
2:02:26
Thank you, and we'll submit extended written testimony, via email.