PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Timothy Pena, Founder of Veterans Justice Project, on Veterans Housing and Voucher Programs
1:33:37
ยท
5 min
Timothy Pena, a veteran and founder of Veterans Justice Project, testified about the challenges faced by homeless veterans in New York City, particularly regarding housing vouchers and shelter conditions. He criticized the inefficiency of the current system and proposed several recommendations to improve housing access for veterans.
- Highlighted the underutilization of HUD-VASH vouchers, with only 272 issued in 7 years despite available funding
- Proposed creating a bridge program between city vouchers and HUD-VASH vouchers to reduce time spent in shelters
- Suggested using city FHEPS caseworkers to assist in processing HUD-VASH vouchers to improve efficiency
- Recommended creating stipend teams of shelter residents to repair and prepare empty apartments for faster occupancy
Timothy Pena
1:33:37
Good morning.
1:33:37
My name is Timothy Pena.
1:33:40
I'm a veteran and small business owner here in New York City, and I run an organization for homeless veterans.
1:33:47
I came to New York City in July of 2022 and, ended up with a, HASSA, supportive housing, with a HUD VASH voucher.
1:34:04
I had a, an apartment, within 2 weeks of coming to New York City, for an, apartment set aside specifically for veterans.
1:34:17
2 of those apartments have been empty this entire time, and that's because DHS won't tell us won't tell the veterans in the shelters that they are eligible for these programs.
1:34:31
I was, I sat in despite having access to an apartment under the HASA program, I sat in the Borden Avenue for 5 months waiting on, my documentation to be processed.
1:34:51
The HUD VASH program, combines section 8 rental assistance and case management and supportive services from Department of Veterans Affairs.
1:35:07
In September 2023, HUD and VA awarded $16,100,000 in HUD VASH vouchers to 71 public housing agencies, including those in New York City.
1:35:19
Unfortunately, in the last 7 years, there have been only 272 HUD VASH vouchers that have been issued to veterans in this city.
1:35:30
272 in 7 years.
1:35:34
That is because Department of Homeless Services has told HUD veterans don't need HUD VASH vouchers.
1:35:47
Instead, we sit in VA shelters, veteran shelters, being told that it is our responsibility for finding housing and that it is our fault for being homeless.
1:36:00
Meanwhile, we are being subjected to 2 years of a grant per diem program that the VA is paying for and that the DHS is taking advantage of.
1:36:13
And then only to be basically kicked out of the shelter program, the GPD program with a city theft voucher.
1:36:22
Many of these veterans are under the impression that they're waiting on HUD VASH vouchers and that's absolutely not happening.
1:36:29
And instead, it's just, so I have a couple of, suggestions, recommendations.
1:36:38
1, that the, instead of doing everything separately and leaving veterans to fend for themselves as far as when it's, city or HUD VASH vouchers, that we have a bridge to gap.
1:36:51
Had I been able to use a city voucher to come into my apartment when I got here in July of 2022, I never would have spent as much time as I did in the shelter and have and been able to have that city voucher transition into a HUD VASH voucher.
1:37:11
I also would like to see we have, specialized case workers that process for city thefts and then separate ones that do HUD VASH.
1:37:26
HUD VASH is not doing a good job of processing veterans' vouchers.
1:37:32
We could use city feb's caseworkers to to assist in processing our HUD VASH vouchers.
1:37:42
I also like to see an increase and and, pressure from the New York City Council to tell Veterans Affairs and Department of Homeless Services that 272 vouchers in 7 years is unacceptable.
1:38:01
There are way we have seen a 45% increase in veteran homelessness in shelters in the last 2 years, up from 480 in 2023 to over 700 now.
1:38:14
And 100 more are living on the streets because our shelters and our places of refuge have become too violent.
1:38:22
And that's department of homeless services' fault and miss commissioner Molly's fault as well.
1:38:27
She knows about what's going on in the shelters.
1:38:30
She has done absolutely nothing about it.
1:38:36
Lastly, I'd like to see I'd I've I've thought about this for quite a a number of years, especially since coming here.
1:38:45
There are thousands of empty apartments in disrepair and eligible for rental in this city.
1:38:54
Be my suggestion is to provide stipend teams of shelter residents to go into these apartments and fix them up and get them ready for rent.
1:39:10
I think last year, I read a report that somewhere in the neighborhood of an, 440 days is the amount of time that apartment sets empty waiting for, repairs and a tenant to flip that apartment.
1:39:25
That's over a year, 14 months or so.
1:39:29
When the private sector could do that would do that in 30 days.