Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lily Shapiro, Policy Counsel at Fortune Society's David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, on Expanding Access to Supportive Housing
3:24:11
·
138 sec
Lily Shapiro from Fortune Society testified in support of Intro 1100, which aims to expand access to supportive housing for vulnerable populations in New York City, particularly those involved in the justice system. She emphasized the urgent need for this legislation due to high rates of homelessness and mental illness among incarcerated individuals.
- Fortune Society serves over 13,000 individuals annually and houses over 800 people nightly, yet 42% of new participants reported being homeless in FY 2024.
- Current eligibility requirements for NYC15/15 supportive housing program exclude many individuals in or recently released from Rikers Island or state prisons.
- 33% of people entering jails are unhoused, 21% have serious mental health diagnoses (35% for women), and 41-54% of those returning from state prisons are discharged directly to shelters.
Lily Shapiro
3:24:11
Tough act follow, but good afternoon chair, nurse, and members of the committee.
3:24:15
My name is Lily Shapiro and I'm policy counsel in the Fortune Society's David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy.
3:24:21
Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the urgent need to pass Intro 1,100 to expand access to supportive housing for some of the most vulnerable people in New York City, some of the most stigmatized people in New York City who deserve access to supportive housing.
3:24:37
We serve over 13,000 individuals annually and every night we house over 800 people in our emergency transitional and permanent supportive housing.
3:24:45
Yet upon intake in fiscal year twenty four, '20 '2 percent of our new participants reported being homeless.
3:24:52
We all know that supportive housing is a proven solution to homelessness, mental health challenges, and justice system involvement, but there are thousands of New Yorkers who are on Rikers for lack of housing, leaving Rikers, and returning home from prison each year who are blocked from accessing the city's largest supportive housing program due to restrictive eligibility requirements because it unnecessarily follows the federal definition of chronic homelessness.
3:25:15
And this is a big problem because the average length of stay on Rikers, the overall average length of stay for people detained pretrial is now two sixty nine days.
3:25:24
Anyone serving a state prison sentence has been incarcerated for at least one year.
3:25:29
We must do better because thirty three percent of people entering our jails are unhoused at the time of admission.
3:25:35
Twenty one percent have a serious mental health diagnosis, and it's very important to note that this is worse for the women on Rikers, 30 5 Percent of whom have a serious mental illness.
3:25:45
Every year since 2015, '40 '1 to '50 '4 percent of people coming back to New York City from our state prisons are discharged directly into our shelter system, forty one to fifty four percent.
3:25:57
Intro eleven hundred offers a clear solution and housing developers, including Fortune who want to provide housing to these people, cannot rely on NYC Fifteen Fifteen as a primary or even secondary funding source.
3:26:09
Passing Intro 1,100 is not about overwhelming the system.
3:26:13
It is about building a fair one.
3:26:15
I'm almost done.
3:26:15
The problem is not too many people in need.
3:26:18
The problem is too few resources and we can and must fix that without continuing to exclude some of our most vulnerable fellow New Yorkers from a potentially lifesaving resource.
3:26:28
Thank you so much.