Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
AGENCY TESTIMONY
Efforts to address homelessness and housing instability
0:21:21
ยท
4 min
Commissioner Park outlines the agency's efforts and progress in addressing homelessness and housing instability, including permanent housing placements, homelessness prevention services, and initiatives to create affordable housing units.
- In calendar year 2024, over 10,200 households (nearly 22,000 New Yorkers) moved out of shelter into permanent housing using City FHEPS vouchers, a 56% increase from the previous year
- Through home-based homelessness prevention services, more than 19,000 households remained in their homes in 2024
- The Affordable Housing Services (AHS) initiative aims to create at least 1,000 affordable housing units for City FHEPS voucher holders exiting shelter
- DHS has expanded low-barrier bed capacity and doubled outreach staffing to address street homelessness
Molly Wasow Park
0:21:21
Oops, one after that.
0:21:23
Thank you.
0:21:26
This next slide shows an image of the Manhattan skyline and presents the title of our next portion of our presentation, addressing homelessness and housing instability.
0:21:35
Keeping New Yorkers in their homes, moving families and individuals shelter, and helping these households remain stably housed are all primary goals for the agency, and I now want to talk about our progress in these areas.
0:21:49
DSS remains committed to connecting New Yorkers to permanent housing and keeping stably housed.
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We made significant strides over the past year by strengthening our rental assistance programs, providing homelessness prevention services, and leveraging social service dollars to actually create more affordable housing.
0:22:05
As a result, DSS has seen record breaking increases in the number of permanent housing placements.
0:22:11
In calendar year '24, more than 10,200 households or nearly 22,000 New Yorkers moved out of shelter into permanent housing placements using city faps.
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That was a 56% increase relative to calendar year '23.
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This is a subset of the nearly 15,000 households comprised of more than 31,000 New Yorkers who were able to obtain permanent housing or stay in their homes using City FEPPs vouchers, reflecting a 43% increase year over year.
0:22:40
Through our home based homelessness prevention services in calendar year '24, more than 19,000 households or close to 40,000 New Yorkers remained in their homes and more than 11,000 households or about 33,000 New Yorkers received aftercare services to help them stay stably housed.
0:22:57
Last year, DSS announced the launch of the Affordable Housing Services or AHS initiative to create at least 1,000 affordable housing units for city FEPS voucher holders exiting shelter.
0:23:08
This program uses social service dollars to help not for profit human service providers either finance the purchase of or long term lease buildings for use as affordable housing.
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We are proud of the progress we've made so far.
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GS has already opened more than four fifty apartment units across six high quality affordable housing sites in The Bronx and Brooklyn in partnership with not for profit providers, and over 500 additional apartments are in the pipeline.
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In New York City, Ninety Seven Percent of people experiencing homelessness are sheltered, but that remaining 3% of individuals is an area of particular focus for the agency.
0:23:48
Since the start of this administration, DSS DHS has aggressively expanded low barrier bed capacity, which are shelters that are particularly targeted to those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, also known as safe haven and stabilization beds.
0:24:03
At this year's State of the City, Mayor Adams announced 900 new low barrier beds representing an investment of another $106,000,000 in efforts to address street homelessness in New York City.
0:24:14
These beds will start to come online as early as this summer, and the remaining beds are to be identified in the DHS development pipeline and brought online in subsequent years.
0:24:26
DHS's safe haven and stabilization bed total will be 4,900 beds once all is said and done.
0:24:33
Because of this investment in street homelessness solutions, DHS placed more than 3,000 New Yorkers residing in low barrier programs into permanent housing during the Adams administration.
0:24:44
And since the launch of the subway safety plan in February 2022, more than 8,300 New Yorkers have been connected to shelter.
0:24:52
DSS DHS has doubled outreach staffing to nearly 400 outreach staffs as of today to support referrals to low barrier shelters.
0:25:04
Now I want to talk about an initiative that I'm particularly excited about, Project Crib.
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DSS is consistently looking for ways to impact the lives of the city's most vulnerable.
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Last year there were over 2,000 babies born in shelter and there is no better, bigger way to impact a child's first days on this earth than to be born into a stable home.
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To support this mission, DSS will embark on CRIB, or Creating Real Impact at Birth, a pilot program to study the impact of housing stability on the newest of New Yorkers by providing pregnant people applying for shelter with support to avoid entering the shelter system.
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DSS is in the middle of drafting the rule changes necessary to advance with this study, and we expect the pilot to commence this summer.
0:25:50
This next slide shows an image of the Manhattan skyline and presents the title of the next portion of our presentation, Creating Economic Stability.