Q&A
Housing vouchers and set-asides for youth aging out of foster care
0:48:31
ยท
3 min
Council Member Stevens inquires about the availability of housing vouchers and set-asides for youth aging out of foster care. Commissioner Dannhauser provides information on current efforts and acknowledges the need for more options.
- Current vouchers are not sufficient to meet the demand for youth aging out of foster care
- ACS has used up all 200 CityFeb vouchers and is working through 50 Section 8 vouchers
- Some providers like Children's Village and New York Foundling are creating mixed-use housing options with set-asides for young people
- The Anthos program has housed 100 young people with various voucher types
- There is a need for more diverse housing options beyond supportive housing
- Council Member Stevens suggests advocating for more set-asides in new housing developments
Althea Stevens
0:48:31
Just really quickly, I I know council member Burrow just asked some questions around housing for young people aging out of foster care.
0:48:40
Do you feel like there's significant housing vouchers available to meet the demand for aging out of foster care?
0:48:45
And this is a question also I had, especially within the lottery.
0:48:49
Do we often have set asides for young people aging out of foster care?
0:48:55
I know there was some in one of in my district, they had, like, maybe, like, four or five units in those.
0:48:59
But is that a need or something that we should continue to push for?
0:49:04
Because I don't feel like that's enough as far as, like, in the housing lottery.
0:49:07
Are we setting aside?
0:49:08
I know we usually do formally homeless and things like that, but do we have a a category where we can set aside units for young people aging out of foster care?
Jess Dannhauser
0:49:16
I would be doing our young people to service if I said it was enough.
0:49:19
They would like to see a lot more.
0:49:22
They want a lot more choice out of their housing options.
0:49:26
Our the Fair Futures Youth Advisory Board, this is something that they've been really focused on.
0:49:30
Some of our providers like the Children's Village and New York Foundling have been creating housing options, permanent housing options for, young people mixed use, but, a high set aside for young people.
0:49:43
We do currently have enough vouchers.
0:49:45
We used up all 200 CityFeb vouchers.
Everson Ladson
0:49:46
You don't have enough?
Althea Stevens
0:49:47
No.
0:49:48
We used them all up.
Chas Budnick
0:49:48
But now
Jess Dannhauser
0:49:49
we have a 50 section eight that we're working down.
0:49:51
We're in constant talks with OMB about we think if we use some of these, programs federally, if you use them, you can get access to more right there in a sort of a and so we wanna use them as quickly as possible.
0:50:03
We started the contract with Anthos, and they've also raised private money so that young people, they're going to an apartment, know that it's an option, that it's banks.
0:50:13
So Anthos goes to landlords, banks apartments, does the some of the fixes themselves, and then young people get to choose if that's an apartment that they want to be in.
0:50:24
A hundred young people have been housed through Anthos with a variety of voucher types.
0:50:30
All of them are still stably housed because they stick with them for another six months or a year.
0:50:35
And so making sure that that next recertification is done, etcetera.
0:50:39
We have a long way to go to make sure all of the housing options are adequate, and I wouldn't be representing our kids if I didn't say that.
0:50:47
I think lottery set aside is a great tool to add to the toolkit.
Althea Stevens
0:50:51
How often is do you know how often that's happening?
0:50:54
Like, where we're having set aside specifically in some of the lotteries for formerly, you know, young people aging out of foster care?
Jess Dannhauser
0:51:01
I'd I would be guessing.
Althea Stevens
0:51:04
Got it.
Jess Dannhauser
0:51:04
So I will look into Is
Althea Stevens
0:51:06
it you can't remember if that low?
Jess Dannhauser
0:51:07
Because if
Althea Stevens
0:51:07
we were to never get you should have been like
Jess Dannhauser
0:51:09
It's it's a fair number.
0:51:10
It's much more likely that supportive housing has set asides, and that's something that we wanna make sure is high quality.
0:51:18
And some of the set asides that I'm familiar with are when our providers have put together an entire package There different taxes.
Althea Stevens
0:51:27
Of our nonprofit providers who are building are doing it, not necessarily the city.
0:51:32
Because I think it's something that we do need to look in because
Jess Dannhauser
0:51:34
It's just city financing.
Althea Stevens
0:51:35
Yeah.
0:51:35
Because all every young person coming out of foster care doesn't need to go to supportive housing.
0:51:40
Right?
0:51:40
Like, there needs to be multiple options.
0:51:42
And so, you know, if I'm if I'm hearing like, oh, there's a lot for supportive housing, that is not the only need.
0:51:47
Some people can move independently.
0:51:49
So I would definitely love to, you know, work with you on seeing how we can advocate to see more of that being built, especially after we just passed City of Less.
0:51:57
Yes, and we're building all of this housing.
0:51:58
It was one of my ask and my demands, but it got kind of swept under the rug.
0:52:02
But we should continue to fight because I think that it's really important.
0:52:05
As the city is building, we need to make sure we are building for everyone.
0:52:09
Right?
0:52:09
And I think that this is gonna be a really important issue around that.
0:52:15
I'm going to stop and hand it over to my colleague, councilmember Williams.
0:52:24
Hi.
0:52:24
Hi, council member.
Nantasha M. Williams
0:52:25
How are you?