Welcome to the November 2013 issue of Network News, the Supportive Housing Network of New York's monthly e-newsletter. In this issue, you'll find a recap of our 2013 Awards Gala and stories on two supportive housing ribbon cuttings in Brooklyn, a groundbreaking in the Bronx, NYC's mayoral election and more. As always, we welcome story ideas and tips for future issues. Thanks for reading!

Network holds largest-ever Awards Gala

More than 550 gather to help honor our community

Network Executive Director Ted Houghton speaks at the Network's Awards Gala on October 16 at Capitale in New York City. For more pictures, visit our Facebook page.

New York's supportive housing community congregated once again on October 16 for the Network's tenth annual Awards Gala. Some 550 guests joined us at Capitale on Wednesday evening to celebrate the outstanding individuals and residences of supportive housing.

Despite the federal government shutdown, the mood was cheery at Capitale. The evening began with a 90-minute cocktail hour for our guests to have plenty of time to network, celebrate old friendships and partnerships and make new ones.

The night culminated, as always, with our awards ceremony. This year, we awarded five remarkable individuals and two stellar residences. Richman Housing Resources President Bill Traylor began the ceremony with a quick welcome and a moving tribute to Alan Epstein, a Network Board Member who passed away in September.

"We dedicate this night to the memory of Alan Epstein, a great friend and a great champion," Mr. Traylor said. "Alan also loved a great party, so we have to party as well."

Next to the stage was Network Executive Director Ted Houghton, who served as a master of ceremonies for much of the night. Mr. Houghton sought to reassure those assembled that the shutdown would not impact supportive housing's established reputation in government.

"Whatever happens, supportive housing's going to be OK," he said. "If we're going to have a civil society, we need this kind of model for people."

For a full recap of the evening, head over to our blog, Network Newsfeed. You can also learn more about each of our seven honorees by following the below links. We hope you had a great time at this year's Gala!

Johanna Flores Shannon McEachern True Colors Residence

Hill Street Inn Dr. Frank Lipton Rick Lyon Jason Helgerson

NYC elects new mayor, progressive slate of elected officials throughout the city

Network looks forward to working with new and old friends

(left to right) NYC Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, Comptroller-elect Scott Stringer and Public Advocate-elect Letitia James.

New York City elected a host of new leaders this week. Chief among them was Bill de Blasio, the 109th mayor of New York. Mr. de Blasio won more than 73% of the vote on Tuesday against Joe Lhota, his Republican opponent. We wish to congratulate the mayor-elect on his victory. Mr. de Blasio spoke often on the campaign trail of the need to expand low-income housing options and tackle homelessness in NYC. We look forward to working with his administration to help achieve both these goals.

Congratulations are also in order to the two other citywide elected officials: Scott Stringer, NYC's new Comptroller, and NYC Council Member Letitia James, who will now serve as the city's Public Advocate. Both Mr. Stringer and Ms. James have been friends of supportive housing in the past, and we're excited to see them take on their new positions in public office.

New Yorkers elected 21 new City Council members on Tuesday as well. We congratulate: Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Helen Rosenthal and Mark Levine in Manhattan, Antonio Reynoso, Laurie Cumbo, Robert Cornegy, Rafael Espinal, Carlos Menchaca, Inez Barron, Alan Maisel, Mark Treyger and Chaim Deutsch in Brooklyn, Paul Vallone, Costa Constantinides, Rory Lancman and Daneek Miller in Queens, Andrew Cohen, Ritchie Torres and Vanessa Gibson in the Bronx and Steven Matteo on Staten Island.

Lastly, we'd like to congratulate New York's new borough presidents: Gale Brewer of Manhattan, Eric Adams of Brooklyn, Melinda Katz of Queens, James Oddo of Staten Island and incumbent Ruben Diaz of the Bronx.

We look forward to working with NYC's newest elected officials to expand supportive housing access for the most vulnerable among us.

Ribbon cutting held for Navy Green

First phase of development includes 97-unit supportive housing residence

Partners and elected officials cut the ribbon outside Navy Green, a large-scale new development in Brooklyn. The project consists of several buildings, including a new 97-unit supportive housing residence. For more photos from the ribbon cutting, visit our Facebook page.

More than 200 people gathered on October 31 to celebrate the development of Navy Green, a massive new mixed-income, market rate and supportive housing development in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Wallabout.

The event marked the end of the first phase of development. This initial phase includes two mixed-income multifamily buildings and a 97-unit supportive housing residence. Once completed, Navy Green will enliven an entire city block with five residences and an expansive courtyard and garden. The final project will include a diverse mix of housing types and income levels, from market-rate townhouses to supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals.

The supportive housing residence, 40 Vanderbilt Ave., houses 59 formerly homeless and 38 low-income individuals. The formerly homeless tenants are all housed through funding from the NY/NY III Agreement.

Thursday's ribbon-cutting was a who's-who of New York supportive housing. Martin Dunn of Dunn Development Corporation and Deb Howard of Pratt Area Community Council served as the masters of ceremonies for the morning event. The two welcomed the crowd and introduced an impressive slate of guest speakers. Both hosts stressed the public-private-nonprofit partnerships that helped make Navy Green a reality and the historic nature of the building site, which had previously been abandoned. Today, the space houses some of NYC's most vulnerable individuals, many of whom receive services from Brooklyn Community Housing and Services.

Follow the link below for more detail on 40 Vanderbilt Ave. and a full rundown of this wonderful day.

CAMBA holds ribbon cutting for 97 Crooke Avenue in Brooklyn

Residence brings 53 supportive housing units to Flatbush

Ceremony participants cut the ribbon outside 97 Crooke Avenue,

a new supportive housing residence from CAMBA.

A capacity crowd gathered October 10 to celebrate the grand opening of CAMBA's newest supportive housing residence.

97 Crooke Avenue, also known as the Reverend Dan Ramm Residence, brings 53 units of supportive and low-income housing to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. This $15.3 million development now houses a mix of formerly homeless adults who suffer from mental illness and low-income individuals from the community.

The roughly 100 guests that day heard the story of 97 Crooke Ave., a residence that brought many disparate partners together in the name of providing housing and support services to formerly homeless and low-income New Yorkers.

Joanne Oplustil, CAMBA President/CEO and Network Board Member, introduced each of the day's guest speakers. NYS Rep. Rhoda Jacobs was the first to take the podium to congratulate and praise CAMBA.

"We know that decent, affordable housing is less costly to society than shelters, and yet we struggle for resources," said Rep. Jacobs. "Fortunately, we have a warrior in Joanne."

Follow the link below to read our full recap at Network Newsfeed!

Ground broken on Bronx's Boston Road

Common Ground residence to offer 154 new homes

Participants break ground at the site of Boston Road, a forthcoming supportive housing residence from Common Ground in the Bronx. Photo courtesy of Common Ground.

Common Ground held a ground-breaking ceremony on October 9 for the second NYC supportive housing residence to begin construction using NYS Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) capital funding.

The project, Boston Road, will bring 154 units of supportive housing to the Bronx. The residence will provide housing and services to a mix of low-income and formerly homeless individuals and seniors. Services will be provided by Services for the UnderServed (SUS).

Dozens of friends and partners gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the start of construction. The event included a number of illustrious guest speakers, including NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner Darryl Towns, former NYC Council Member Helen Foster and NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Deputy Commissioner Eric Enderlin. Common Ground Executive Director Brenda Rosen served as the master of ceremonies for the late-morning event.

"This is a creative approach to dealing with an epidemic [of homelessness]," Ms. Foster said. "Let this be an example of what we do going forth in the city."

Click the button below to read the full story!

Medicaid-funded supportive housing receives media coverage

New pieces run in NY1, Huffington Post, Next City, elsewhere

NYS Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson helps announce a new plan to use Medicaid funding to fund New York supportive housing residences at the Network's 2012 conference.

News outlets have begun to take notice of New York's housing revolution. Last year, our state became the first in the nation to fund supportive housing as a means of lowering Medicaid expenses. New York did so through the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Supportive Housing Initiative, a transformative program that represents the largest new funding stream for supportive housing in New York since the 2005 New York/New York III Agreement. The initiative commits a minimum of $75 million a year for three years to create supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients.

NY1 was the latest news outlet to cover this story. Earlier this week, the station ran a profile on Boston Road, a soon-to-be supportive housing development that received MRT funding. You can watch the video here.

The construction of Boston Road has inspired several similar articles in the press. The New York Daily News ran this piece in conjunction with the ground-breaking of the residence, while Next City published this interview with Common Ground Executive Director Brenda Rosen on Boston Road and its potential to lower the state's Medicaid costs.

For a full overview of recent news coverage on Medicaid and supportive housing, read our entire story over at Network Newsfeed!

Twitter rallies lead to homelessness question at final NYC debate

Read the transcript between Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota

Rev. Calvin O. Butts speaks at the launch of the United to End Homelessness coalition in April. The coalition successfully advocated to have a question on homelessness asked during the final mayoral debate between Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota.

United to End Homelessness held two Twitter rallies in October to urge New York City's mayoral candidates and debate moderators to discuss homelessness during the final debates leading up to NYC's citywide election on November 5. The last of these rallies was held on October 28, when more than 55 organizations (including the Network) took to Twitter to call on Bill de Blasio, Joe Lhota and moderator Melissa Russo to "Home in on Homelessness."

On October 30, the coalition's efforts paid off. After several debates in which the word "homeless" was never even uttered, moderators at last asked both candidates to discuss their plans to end homelessness. Follow the link below to read the full transcript of the exchange. You can read the tweets from October's Twitter rallies by following this link.

We look forward to continuing our work with the United to End Homelessness campaign. As the mayor-elect prepares to take office, we hope to keep homelessness and supportive housing on his radar as much as possible.

In This Issue

MRT Supportive Housing

United to End Homelessness

Network

Jobs Board

Check out these job openings and many others on our Jobs Board. Network members can post their employment opportunities for free!

Case Manager Supervisor

Henry Street Settlement

Executive Director (Long Island)

HELP USA

Residential Aide

Common Ground

Upcoming

Events

The Network's workshop collaboration with the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) continues! Over the next two months, we'll be co-sponsoring workshops on harm reduction models and an overview of psychiatric disorders and medications. To learn how you can attend these events, see our Upcoming Events page!

News Clips

Network Executive Director Ted Houghton appeared on the October 20 episode of "Human Services News and Views," a new radio program from the Human Services Council and New York Nonprofit Press. Mr. Houghton discussed the Housing First! and United to End Homelessness campaigns in New York City. You can listen to the segment here.

The Washington Post ran a spectacular piece on the benefits of supportive housing for health care "frequent fliers" on November 2. The piece quotes Arturo Bendixen of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, a presenter at the Network's 2013 conference. You can read the story here and watch Mr. Bendixen's presentation here.

City Limits ran an op-ed on October 17 that highlighted supportive housing as an essential tool to end homelessness in NYC. The article, written by Jeff Foreman of Care for the Homeless, is available to read here.

Mr. Foreman also penned an op-ed on the United to End Homelessness campaign in the Gotham Gazette on November 1. The piece includes a quote from Network Deputy Executive Director Nicole Branca.

Two prominent Network members had letters to the editor published in the New Yorker this month. Stephan Russo of Goddard Riverside Community Center and Muzzy Rosenblatt of BRC both wrote letters on homelessness in response to a feature article on the issue. You can read both letters here and the homelessness article here.

The U.S. Senate voted to block the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency last month. Read this Politico article to learn more about Rep. Watt and his stalled nomination.

Member Updates

The Economic Roundtable and CSH have released Getting Home, a new report on the health and cost outcomes of supportive housing. The report finds dramatic cost savings associated with supportive housing for frequent users of emergency services. You can read the report here.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition has released a new video for its United for Homes campaign, which advocates for funding the National Housing Trust Fund through mortgage interest deduction reform. You can watch the video here.

The finalists for the 2013 Nonprofit Excellence Awards have been announced. Three of the nominees are Network members: BronxWorks, The Children's Village and CSH. Learn more about the Nonprofit Excellence Awards here. Congrats to our nominated members!

Comings & Goings

Steve Pock has announced his retirement from the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Mr. Pock served as the agency's Deputy Commissioner of Fiscal and Procurement Operations. He has served the City of New York for more than 30 years, including all 20 years of DHS's existence. Mr. Pock has been an extraordinary asset to DHS, and we wish him a long, happy and fulfilling retirement.

Jordan Press has joined the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) as its Federal Policy Director. Mr. Press held that same title at CSH from October 2007 until last month. At HPD, he's now responsible for analyzing and interpreting federal notices, regulations and legislation. He also serves as the agency's liaison to national housing advocacy groups. We congratulate Mr. Press on his move to HPD and look forward to working with him in the future.

After more than a decade at the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), Lauren Pareti will leave CUCS next month to join Housing Innovations, a private consulting firm. As its new Senior Associate, Ms. Pareti will lead projects aimed at strengthening homeless service systems and helping organizations improve their service quality. Ms. Pareti served as the Director of the CUCS Institute, where she led a team that trained more than 5,000 direct care staff annually. Ms. Pareti will remain a consultant for the NYC Continuum of Care for another year.

Aaron Levitt will soon take Ms. Pareti's place as the CUCS Institute's Director. Mr. Levitt currently serves as CUCS' Director of Research and Planning and previously served as Director of Information Services and Technology. Under Mr. Levitt's leadership, the CUCS Institute will continue to train staff at human service agencies on a range of topics, including mental illness, homelessness and crisis and conflict prevention. We'd like to congratulate both Mr. Levitt and Ms. Pareti's on their new positions!

Glenn Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs at Fortune Society, has announced plans to leave the organization. Mr. Martin will step down in early 2014 to launch JustLeadershipUSA, a new advocacy organization that will aim to build stronger leadership among formerly incarcerated individuals. Mr. Martin served at Fortune Society for six years. We look forward to his new venture!