PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sarah Telson, Director of LGBTQ HIV Advocacy Unit at Brooklyn Legal Services
1:36:42
ยท
3 min
Sarah Telson from Brooklyn Legal Services testified about the challenges faced by HASA clients and the gaps in service delivery. She highlighted issues such as unresponsive caseworkers, long wait times for applications, and the lack of oversight for supportive housing providers.
- Telson emphasized the dire consequences of HASA's delays, including the risk of eviction for clients
- She called for increased staffing, improved communication, and better oversight mechanisms for HASA
- Telson also noted the need to raise the NNC allowance, which has not been increased in 40 years, to prevent loss of affordable housing for long-term tenants
Sarah Telson
1:36:42
Good more good morning.
1:36:43
My name is Sarah Telson.
1:36:45
My pronouns are she and they, and I'm the director of the LGBTQ HIV advocacy unit at Brooklyn Legal Services.
1:36:50
Each year, our team serves of seven serves hundreds of people living with HIV and AIDS in their legal matters.
1:36:55
As you know, our clients rely on HASA for critical needs, including housing and other health impacting needs.
1:37:00
HASA plays a vital role in, the lives of our clients.
1:37:03
However, it is clear that there are gaps in service delivery that must be addressed to ensure that HASA is truly meeting the needs of our most vulnerable community members.
1:37:11
Our one significant issue that our clients report is that their HASA caseworkers are unresponsive.
1:37:16
Clients report that they do not know who the caseworker is or that they frequently change.
1:37:20
Often, our clients have to retell their stories, resubmit documents, and repeat steps when they are already burdened by whatever legal issue that has brought them to our office.
1:37:28
Despite an expectation that applications be decided in thirty days, clients wait much longer, often several months.
1:37:34
However, HAAS's internal dating conventions don't reflect the actual amount of time an application has taken.
1:37:40
As advocates, we experience the same difficulty in reaching case workers.
1:37:44
For each of our cases, a significant amount of time is spent just trying to reach someone at HASA and get an action taken.
1:37:49
These delays have dire consequences.
1:37:51
When HASA fails to respond, we are unable to resolve eviction cases, and our clients become perilously close to losing their homes.
1:37:58
Emergency requests are meant to be addressed within a specific timeline, and yet our experience is that these timelines are rarely, if ever, met.
1:38:04
In Brooklyn, public benefits recipients who are not receiving HASA benefits have the ability to go to an office in in housing court and seek rental assistance the same day they're in housing court.
1:38:12
HASA recipients don't have that option.
1:38:14
With no access to an in court process or equivalent, clients receiving HASA benefits face unnecessary delays in their cases.
1:38:21
And because we do not and will not disclose our client status and cannot, we cannot explain to the court why these delays happen, and the court doesn't have patience to understand why.
1:38:31
Another gap in services we have witnessed is a lack of oversight of supportive housing providers.
1:38:35
Supportive housing, residents are particularly vulnerable and rely on their providers for housing and services.
1:38:40
Housing providers are not following the required step procedures further exacerbating our clients' housing instability.
1:38:45
Our clients find themselves in eviction proceedings because supportive housing providers are not making rent payments and then not showing up to court, putting tenants at risk of eviction through no fault of their own.
1:38:54
As noted earlier by Chair Ayala, the NNC allowance has not been raised in forty years.
1:38:59
This particularly affects people who have long term tenancies in affordable apartments and ultimately increases homelessness.
1:39:05
Our clients, especially those who receive Social Security benefits and are impacted by COLA increases, would benefit from an increased allowance.
1:39:11
Unfortunately, the current amounts directly lead to a loss of affordable low rent apartments.
1:39:16
As a city council, you have the power to hold HASA accountable for the quality of services it provides.
1:39:20
We urge the council to immediately take action to ensure that HASSA adheres to its own policies and timelines.
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This includes increased staffing, improved communication, and oversight mechanisms that hold HASSA accountable to the people it serves.
1:39:33
Thank you for your time and attention, and we look forward to working together to improve HASA services and protect the housing security of fixed folks living with HIV in New York City.
1:39:41
Thank you.