Speakers at the morning plenary of the 2012 New York State Supportive Housing Conference (left to right): HPD Commissioner Mathew Wambua, Network Board Chair Bill Traylor, HCR Commissioner Darryl Towns, NYCHA Chairman John Rhea and Network Executive Director Ted Houghton. The Network will announce the keynote speaker for the 2013 conference next week.

The nation's largest supportive housing conference reconvenes in just over one month!

 

On June 6, more than 1,000 attendees will gather at the New York Marriott Marquis for a full day of workshops, guest speakers and networking opportunities. The 13th Annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference will host a record 30 workshops and a very special keynote address, which we'll be announcing next week. You can register for our signature yearly event here.

 

We're very excited about this year's conference. This year, we will be experimenting with slightly shorter workshops in order to add a fourth session. This will offer attendees an unprecedented array of topics from which to choose.

 

Whether you're a case manager or a property manager, a government official or a banker, an architect or a social worker, you'll have multiple options for every breakout session. More than 100 panelists will be on hand to discuss the future of supportive housing, new housing finance models, data-driven best practices, adapting programs as tenants age in place, building for disasters, green housing, new housing and homelessness policy initiatives and new approaches to help disconnected young adults succeed in housing.

 

Ten supportive housing-related New York City and State commissioners and other leaders will be among the panelists this year: Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez, Jason Helgerson, Marc Jahr, Adam Karpati, Jeanne Mullgrav, Kristin Proud, Ronald Richter, Darryl Towns, Mathew Wambua and Kristin Woodlock. Workshops will include time set aside to ask questions and share advice.

 

Check the Network's website in the coming weeks for a full breakdown of all workshops and presenters at this year's conference.  

 

Along with the workshops, a networking lunch and post-conference cocktail reception will offer chances to connect with colleagues (as well as eat, drink and be merry). A select group of exhibitors will also be on hand throughout the day.

 

If you haven't already, we hope you'll register today for our annual blowout event. See you on June 6!

The NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation (HHAC) and the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) have released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for two capital programs to fund supportive housing development.

Proposals are now being accepted for $30 million in funding through the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP). Funding must be used for the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of properties for low-income individuals who are, or would otherwise be, homeless. Of this funding, $5 million may be reserved for the development of projects that serve homeless people with HIV/AIDS. To learn more and read the RFP, see the Network's full analysis here. 

OTDA is also accepting proposals for $13.2 million in capital funding through the HHAP/Medicaid Redesign Team program. Funding must be used to acquire, construct or rehabilitate housing for people who are or may become homeless. All housing must be located in New York's Upstate or suburban regions. See the Network's full analysis to learn more.

This is an open-ended RFP, meaning proposals will be accepted on a continuous basis until funds are no longer available. We wish you good luck in your proposals!

The NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) has just released an addendum to a recent Request for Proposals (RFP) for its remaining NY/NY III HIV/AIDS units of supportive housing. You can read the original RFP and the addendum at the Network's website.

The addendum lists the new date to start receiving proposals as Wednesday, May 15. It also includes an extensive Q&A from the bidders' conference, the addition of some new compliance riders and new detailed requirements for substance abuse counselors.

Most notably, the addendum modifies NY/NY III "Population H" eligibility. Tenants in Population H housing -- NY/NY III units funded specifically for individuals that are homeless and living with HIV/AIDS -- no longer need to be chronically homeless. The addendum also removes the prescribed number of units that can be built using specific capital funding sources.

Visit our RFP page to learn more.

Rev. Calvin O. Butts speaks at the launch event for the United to End Homelessness campaign on April 9 on the steps outside New York City Hall. Photo courtesy of Thomas Donley Photography. For more photos, see the Network's Facebook page.

Network staff joined more than 250 friends and advocates on April 9 at the launch of United to End Homelessness, a coalition created to highlight homelessness during the 2013 mayoral election in New York City. The rally took place on the steps of City Hall and featured a slate of guest speakers, including Rev. Calvin O. Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

The event marked the start of a long campaign, one designed to both shed light on NYC's homelessness crisis and offer policy solutions to the mayoral candidates. 

Christy Parque of Homeless Services United (HSU) served as the day's emcee. Faced with an unseasonably hot afternoon, Ms. Parque kept her cool as she introduced the coalition as a broad array of experts, advocates and faith leaders.

"We must have a diversity of solutions to match the diversity of reasons why our friends become homeless in New York City," she said.

The ever-eloquent Rev. Butts then took the stage to offer an impassioned plea to New York's next mayor.

"I'm pleased to be a part of this coalition, because I know how important this issue is," he said. "The next mayor of the City of New York must make [ending homelessness] a major plank in their platform."

Rally-goers also heard from the very people who benefit from effective homelessness policies. One of those individuals was Keith Hunter, a supportive housing tenant with Lantern Organization. Mr. Hunter spoke about his history of homelessness, the difficulties he faced in foster care and the remarkable differences in his life now that he has a stable place to live.

"I hope our cries will be heard by our next mayor and that he or she will build more supportive housing units across New York City," he said.

Other speakers included Philip Malebranche of Care for the Homeless, Nazima Ali, Jennifer March-Joly of Citizens' Committee for Children and Stephan Russo of Goddard Riverside Community Center.

"We're here today to let the next mayor know that, once and for all, we need a commitment to stop the vicious cycle of homelessness," Mr. Russo said.

You can view videos from throughout the day over at the coalition's YouTube channel.

The Network is proud to be a part of United to End Homelessness and looks forward to organizing and attending future advocacy events. If you haven't done so already, please visit the coalition's website and endorse their policy platform.

More than 80 volunteers gather for a training session on the morning of the Network's New York City Advocacy Day. Volunteers attended meetings all day to advocate for a budget restoration for HASA case management services.

The Network held its second-annual New York City Advocacy Day on April 30 in coordination with VOCAL-NY and Village Care. Together, our three organizations mobilized more than 80 volunteers to attend 26 meetings with New York City Council members and their staff.

Much like we did at Council Member Annabel Palma's press conference last month, we used these meetings to advocate for budget restorations for HIV/AIDS supportive housing in Mayor Bloomberg's 2013-2014 proposed budget. Our staffers and volunteers stressed the need to restore a $5.1 million cut to NYC Human Resources Administration's HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) supportive housing case management services and other critical services for those living with HIV/AIDS.

This cut, when paired with a $2.1 million match from New York State, would result in a $7.2 cut to case management in our supportive housing residences and scattered site programs. An estimated 200 case managers could lose their jobs as a result.

Mayor Bloomberg has proposed this cut in his last five budgets. City Council leadership has restored this funding in each of the past four years. We are hopeful that, despite budget constraints, it will do so again this year.

The mayor will release his Executive Budget shortly, which will kick off another round of budget hearings by the City Council's General Welfare Committee on May 21. The public testimony portion of the hearing will begin at 4pm. The Network will submit testimony and encourages its members and their tenants to also submit testimony about the importance of restoring these cuts.

We'd like to thank all the organizations that joined us on our most recent Advocacy Day: VOCAL, Village Care, Housing & Services, CAMBA, Harlem United, Pratt Area Community Council, Common Ground, Unique People Services, Praxis Housing Initiatives, The Doe Fund and Black Veterans for Social Justice.

If you'd like to get involved in our efforts to restore HASA case management funding, please email Edline Jacquet.  

President Obama has released his executive budget request for the 2014 fiscal year. The $3.8 trillion budget includes increases to several key programs within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Regrettably, it also includes a cut to the already-embattled HOME program, a major source of funding for the development of supportive housing.

The most heartening item within the HUD budget is a 17% increase to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grant program. The President proposes to fund the program at $2.38 billion. According to estimates from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, this funding level would ensure continued funding for all existing programs and roughly $40 million for new supportive housing programs.

The budget also proposes incremental funding increases for the HUD 811, 202 and VASH programs. For a full breakdown on all major HUD programs, see here.

The federal budget, however, proposes a further 5% cut to the HOME program, a primary source of capital funding for supportive housing projects. The 2013 budget calls for less than $950 million in HOME funding, as compared to $1.8 billion in 2010. Budget language asserts that this cut will be mitigated by $1 billion in mandatory funding for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). The Trust Fund, however, has yet to be funded, despite being created in 2008. It still does not have a sustainable funding mechanism in place.

The executive budget typically represents the starting point in federal budget negotiations. This year, however, the President's budget arrives two months later, after the House and Senate have begun work on their respective appropriations bills.

Two "dear colleague" letters advocating for both the President's McKinney-Vento funding level and an increase for HOME funding in the HUD budget have circulated. Both New York senators and eight New York representatives have endorsed the letter in support of the President's McKinney funding. Seven New York representatives have endorsed the plan for increased HOME funding.

We encourage you to call your senators and representatives and urge them to both support the President's funding request for McKinney-Vento and funding increases for HOME. You can use this tool to find your representative and this directory to find his or her phone number.  

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $72 million to existing Continuum of Care programs, including $6 million for 40 programs in New York State. This is the second round of CoC awards announced this spring. The first round, made in March, awarded $1.54 billion nationally. All of the round one funding also went to renewal contracts. A third and final announcement is expected in the next 60 days for any new contracts.

Typically, HUD makes one announcement for all new and renewal contracts. However, because Congress did not appropriate sufficient funding in the FY 2012 budget, CoC communities were required to create two tiers of programs, with the second-tier programs at risk of not getting their contracts renewed if there wasn't enough prior-year unspent funds at HUD to make up for the budget shortfall. The funding announced yesterday will help keep hundreds of formerly homeless and disabled New Yorkers housed.

Click here to browse the full list of awardees. For more details on this issue, please email Steve Piasecki.  

The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) released its annual State of Homelessness in America report last month. The document, available here, provides housing and homelessness data for each state and analyzes trends nationwide. 

NAEH's report offers both good and bad news. On the positive side, the data shows a significant decrease in veteran and chronic homelessness. The report finds that veteran homelessness dropped 7.2% from 2011 to 2012 while chronic homelessness dropped 6.8% in the same time span. NAEH unequivocally ties these findings to supportive housing, arguing that "the ongoing and increased development of permanent supportive housing, a proven solution to ending homelessness for people with disabilities, is bringing down chronic and veteran homelessness numbers in communities across the country."

Overall, the report finds .4% decrease in homelessness nationwide.

The numbers for New York, however, were less positive. Based on figures from point-in-time counts reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the report finds that homelessness increased in New York by nearly 10% from January 2011 to January 2012. It notes increases in homelessness among both individuals and families.

The State of Homelessness in America also offers a wealth of data on poverty, unemployment, the cost of rental housing and other salient issues. You can read the full report here. 

Partners gather on May 1 for the grand opening of Eastman Commons, a new supportive housing residence in Rochester.

Eighty formerly homeless and low-income Rochester residents now have a place to call home thanks to Eastman Commons, a new supportive housing residence from Common Ground.

The building was the site of a grand opening ceremony on May 1, when government, nonprofit and for-profit partners gathered to celebrate the project. The $15 million residence, formerly the site of an industrial laundry and re-mediated through the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program, offers one-bedroom apartments to 41 formerly homeless and 39 low-income individuals. The residence first opened its doors late last year.

Eastman Commons' ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony included a number of guest speakers, including Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards, Rochester City Council President Lovely Warren and representatives from the offices of U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, NYS Sen. Joseph Robach and NYS Rep. Joseph Morelle.

Representatives from NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR) and NYS Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation (HHAC) also spoke at the event.

New York State contributed nearly $7 million in financing for the project, $4 million from HCR and $3 million from the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). The City of Rochester and the Rochester Housing Authority contributed to the project; construction financing was provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. Goldman, Sachs & Co. provided $8.8M in equity for the project. Services funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Bergmann Associates and Nativo General Contracting served as the architect and contractor for the residence, respectively.

Congratulations to Common Ground, the residents of Rochester and all 80 men and women who now live at Eastman Commons!