Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Discussing supportive housing services and the demographics of regional poverty
1:25:48
·
3 min
Commissioner Dr. Lisette Nieves asks Pascale Leone about the service model in supportive housing; Leone describes it as evidence-based case management that connects residents to essential community resources, resulting in high housing stability rates.
Nieves then asks Craig Gurian for the racial/ethnic breakdown of the statistic showing NYC has double the rate of very low-income households compared to surrounding suburbs; Gurian agrees to provide the data, acknowledging the importance of demonstrating the disparate impact on Black and Hispanic populations for legal remedies.
- Supportive housing provides case management linking residents to services like healthcare, counseling, and job support.
- This model has proven highly effective, with 90-95% of residents maintaining housing long-term.
- Data showing NYC's disproportionate share of low-income households compared to suburbs highlights regional inequities.
- Understanding the racial and ethnic breakdown of this disparity is crucial for addressing fair housing issues.
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:25:48
Hi.
1:25:49
Thank you so much both of you for your testimony.
1:25:51
I have a question for each one of you.
1:25:53
First for Ms.
1:25:54
Leon, you spoke a bit about, and thanks for your testimony, housing with on-site services.
1:26:00
You're probably the only testimony we've heard to date that specifically requested on-site services.
1:26:06
Could you talk a little bit more about that, a model that you would love to expand, and why we should be thinking about this?
Pascale Leone
1:26:13
Yeah.
1:26:13
And supportive housing, again, came from the movement in response to widespread homelessness that was made due to failure in policy.
1:26:23
And so the model is actually a case management model.
1:26:26
So it's not providing clinical services.
1:26:28
And it's evidence based.
1:26:29
It works.
1:26:29
We have folks who maintain housing for the long term, 90% to 95% in twenty four months or twelve months retention.
1:26:37
And so it provides a case manager who connects folks to resources in the community, whether it be mental health services, substance abuse counseling, vocational services, helping with finding a job, just really the glue and being that person.
1:26:52
We all need help in some capacity, right?
1:26:54
But for folks who really struggle with underlying conditions, like significant mental health disorders, having a case manager, having supportive housing has really been that life lifeline.
1:27:04
I could bring hundreds of tenants here that will tell you just how supportive housing has saved their lives.
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:27:09
Yeah.
1:27:09
And and we know that one time we had quite a few models, and they were scaled back because the state pulled back on funding for that.
1:27:15
So I would just like to make sure the testimony you speak to some of the evidence of those models so that, they could also be seen as an incentive
Pascale Leone
1:27:24
for others.
1:27:25
Thank you.
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:27:27
Question for you is you you began your conversation, particularly talking about black, non Hispanic, right, and looking at racial segregation particularly through that lens.
1:27:35
But you talked about double the rate of those at $35,000 living in this city at 25.7 percent.
1:27:42
Could you give me the demographic breakdown of that number?
Craig Gurian
1:27:46
I don't I don't have that at hand.
1:27:48
I'm happy to provide that
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:27:49
to But,
Craig Gurian
1:27:50
I mean, it's just very compelling evidence of something that we all know, which is that the suburbs have not done anything like their fair share in taking on the need for regional housing.
1:28:06
They have existing obligations and a variety of statutes to do No.
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:28:11
I totally get that.
1:28:11
But when I'm looking at that number two, I know it most likely has a disproportionate Latino impact in that number.
1:28:17
And so it would just be really good to have the demographic breakdown of that number as well.
Craig Gurian
1:28:21
We'll we'll be able to
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:28:22
easily It's it's it it doesn't take away from the argument.
1:28:25
What it does is it it it talks about it in a in a multiple, both racial and ethnic way around the impact of who who was
Craig Gurian
1:28:33
in the Well, and there's a very concrete and practical impact of that because in terms of the legal remedies that are available in terms of the exclusion that so many of the suburban towns and villages practice, the fact that it has a disparate impact on prospective black and Hispanic residents is a critical legal issue.
Dr. Lisette Nieves
1:29:09
Yeah.
1:29:09
There's no question that both the race and class piece play on this.
1:29:13
And I just want to make sure that we we have the representative information of that.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
1:29:18
We'll we'll make sure we get that
Roxanne Delgado
1:29:19
to you.