PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jack Boyle, Staff Attorney at Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, on HASA Rental Assistance Issues
1:09:51
ยท
3 min
Jack Boyle, a staff attorney from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, testifies about issues with HASA's rental assistance program. He highlights bureaucratic failures, caseworker problems, and discrimination faced by HASA clients, urging the council to consider changes to protect vulnerable individuals.
- Boyle reports that HASA clients often face housing court due to errors in voucher payments and unresponsive caseworkers.
- He suggests changes to the administrative code to require reporting on the timeline from when a client requests assistance to when the application is completed.
- The testimony emphasizes the need for better protection against discrimination and simplification of the HASA rental assistance process.
Jack Boyle
1:09:51
My name is Jack Boyle.
1:09:53
I'm a staff attorney with the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
1:09:56
I wanna focus specifically on the rental assistance payments administered by HASA.
1:10:00
Our office has recently seen numerous been brought to housing courts solely due to bureaucratic failures that have significantly reduced or entirely cut off their voucher payments.
1:10:12
We often find that caseworkers are not able to correct these errors in a timely manner.
1:10:16
Our clients frequently report that their assigned caseworkers have expressed personal hostility to them and their status.
1:10:23
Yet every time a HASA client interacts with HRA, they're expected to do so only through that assigned caseworker who's often overworked, creating an unnecessary hurdle to accessing or making necessary changes to benefits.
1:10:37
These challenges mean that HASA clients are often in a more difficult position in housing court than recipients of other HRA voucher programs such as city FEPs and state FEPs.
1:10:47
NDS urges the council and HRA to consider changes to this important program to protect these extremely vulnerable clients.
1:10:54
First, the council should consider changing the administrative code to require reporting on the timeline from when a HASA client first requests that a caseworker begin an application for a benefit to when that application is actually completed.
1:11:08
Currently, reporting is only required from the timeline from when a a benefit application is marked complete to when or submitted to when a determination is actually made.
1:11:18
This is concerning as numerous clients report that caseworkers fail to or refuse to actually start those benefits applications or requests entirely.
1:11:27
For example, mister Y accrued significant rental arrears as HASA miscalculated his rental assistance payments.
1:11:34
Mister Y notified his caseworker of the issue over a year ago and repeatedly begged for assistance.
1:11:41
No action was taken.
1:11:42
Even when an attorney got involved, it took half a year for HASA to complete a request for the arrears, and even then, it did so for an incorrect amount.
1:11:51
Today, mister y remains at serious risk of eviction.
1:11:55
Another client, mister Z's partner, was a HASA recipient and a cotenant in the apartment.
1:12:00
When our office applied for a one shot deal on behalf of the household, HRA refused to process the application and demanded that it go through HASA.
1:12:08
The HASA caseworker then also refused to assist, and the caseworker informed NDS that he did not care about preventing the eviction because HASA preferred to force the tenant to get evicted and enter shelter.
1:12:23
These are just a few examples among many.
1:12:25
The extensive advocacy and litigation that is often required to obtain basic assistance from HASA places an unfair burden on clients and advocates alike.
1:12:34
The counsel and HRA should also consider steps to permit HASA clients to submit their own applications so that access to benefits are not entirely held up by an uncooperative or often overwhelmed caseworker.
1:12:47
Second, HRA must do more to protect HASA clients from discrimination.
1:12:52
HASA is the only HRA program where individuals managing a tenant's rental assistance are aware of sensitive medical information like their HIV status.
1:13:00
Indeed, in prior testimony to this council, Commissioner Park explained that HRA does not track the APS status of CityFEP's recipients precisely for this reason.
1:13:10
And if HRA is unwilling to consider disentangling a HASA client's HIV status from their rental assistance case, it must do more to ensure that caseworkers are fully trained to interact with this extremely vulnerable client population.
1:13:23
Lastly, the the council and HRA should consider normalizing and simplifying HASA rental assistance.
1:13:28
There is no reason why a HASA client should not be able to provide information externally that explains their housing benefits in the language and format of more well known programs that do not require recipients to be HIV positive.
1:13:41
We welcome your questions.
Diana Ayala
1:13:42
Thank you.