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Welcome to the February 2013 issue of Network News, the Supportive Housing Network of New York's monthly e-newsletter. In this issue, you'll find stories on NYC's Youth Count, the NYS and NYC budgets, a groundbreaking ceremony in the Bronx, available funding sources and more. As always, we welcome story ideas and tips for future issues. Thanks for reading!
Gov. Cuomo releases Executive Budget
Includes $91-million for MRT Supportive Housing Fund

Governor Andrew Cuomo released his Executive Budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year on January 22. The budget signals mostly good news but leaves some areas of concern as well.

The good news: Gov. Cuomo's budget seeks to fund the new Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Supportive Housing Fund at $91 million. This includes an increase to baseline funding and additional funding from a portion of Medicaid and non-Medicaid savings related to reductions in inpatient hospitalizations, psychiatric center admissions and nursing home capacity. This fund will continue to provide service funding, rent subsidies and capital dollars to create supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients.

The budget also proposes transferring the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP)'s authority and staff from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to Homes & Community Renewal (HCR). The administration hopes this move will streamline the funding process for nonprofit developers by reducing duplicative efforts and increasing the effectiveness of the State's housing programs. The Network wants to make sure any change protects the integrity of the program and doesn't discourage funding of nonprofit providers. We will keep everyone updated as we get more information.  

 

The budget also proposes flat funding for both the Housing Trust Fund (at $32 million) and HHAP (at $30 million).

On the services side, the funding level for the Homeless Housing Prevention Services Program, which funds the NYS Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP), the Solutions to End Homelessness Program (STEHP) and the Operational Support for AIDS Housing Program, was funded at $28.7 million; an additional $4.1 million is needed to fully fund NYSSHP for FY '13-'14. 

 
In addition, the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute received a 13% cut. As of now, it remains unclear whether this cut will impact the state's share of the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) New York/New York III contracts.


As always, the Network will host a series of advocacy meetings with the Senate and Assembly and has already begun meeting with executive and legislative leadership on these issues. If you are interested in participating in these meetings in your community or in Albany, please contact the Network's Albany office at 518-465-3233 or email Maclain Berhaupt.

To learn more about how the Executive Budget impacts supportive housing, see the Network's full analysis here

Bloomberg unveils Preliminary Budget
Includes $5.1 million cut to HIV/AIDS supportive housing

Mayor Michael Bloomberg released his preliminary budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year on January 29. 

For the fourth year in a row, the Mayor's budget includes a $5.1 million cut to on-site case managers in supportive housing funded by the NYC Human Resources Administration's HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). In each of the last three years, the Network has worked with City Council leadership, fellow advocates and Network members and tenants to successfully urge the Council to restore these cuts. While we trust that City Council will restore these cuts again, we are deeply disappointed that the Administration failed to add this funding back to the baseline budget.

The cuts, if enacted, would require supportive housing nonprofits to lay off hundreds of essential staff who help formerly homeless people living with HIV/AIDS maintain their housing and health; such staff cuts would invariably result in tenants returning to homelessness, costing taxpayers far more in shelter and hospitalizations than any potential savings from the proposed cut.

 

The budget also does not include an increase to the NYS Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP). Formerly known as SRO Support Services, the program is funded by the State and the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). While DHS has found ways to self-fund the budget gap for this important program, including some expected restorations to existing programs this year, the agency will need additional funding to fund services in new buildings coming online. The shortfall this year is estimated at $1.1 million.

 

If you have questions or would like to get involved in this year's advocacy efforts, please email or call the Network's policy analyst, Edline Jacquet, at 646-619-9646. 

New York/New York III HASA RFP released
RFP marks completion of HRA's NY/NY III commitment

The NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the remaining 394 HIV/AIDS units of supportive housing under the NY/NY III Agreement. As per the Agreement, the RFP is for congregate supportive housing for chronically homeless single adults who are living with HIV/AIDS and who suffer from a co-occurring serious and persistent mental illness, a substance abuse disorder or a Mentally Ill Chemical Abuse (MICA) disorder. 


For more details or to download the RFP visit the Network's funding page.


This will be a rolling RFP with HRA accepting proposals starting April 10. The maximum rate is $25,444 per unit for operating and service funding. It is expected that providers will apply to NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR), NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for capital funding.


For those interested in applying, HASA will host an optional but strongly recommended pre-proposal conference on February 13. The conference will take place at 2pm at 125 Worth Street in Manhattan.

The Network worked closely with HRA/HASA leadership on the release of this RFP and would like to thank them and their staff for their commitment to the final NY/NY III HIV/AIDS units. 

Deutsche Bank announces latest round of DB SHARE funding
Letters of Intent due February 22

Deutsche Bank has released a request for Letters of Intent (LOI) for Round 6 of its Supportive Housing Acquisition and Rehabilitation Effort (SHARE) program. The SHARE program supports developers in need of early, predevelopment funding for new supportive housing residences.


DB SHARE offers a three-year award of up to $225,000 per recipient, or $75,000 per year. Established in 1998, the program is a rare and highly valued resource for funding supportive housing predevelopment in New York City. The program offers to pay for essential but often unfunded activities in the development process. These include site search and acquisition, design, environmental assessment, costs associated with adopting an energy efficiency design and development of community support strategies.


The fifth round of awards, released in 2010, awarded more than $2.6 million to 12 nonprofits, all of them Network members. One of these was West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSSH), which desperately needed the funding to close on the capital financing for a 145-unit residence.


"DB funding helped us cover a range of ramp-up expenses such as conducting tenant income certifications, evaluating the range of social service needs in the building and overseeing emergency repairs to build tenant trust and confidence in us," said WSFSSH Executive Director Laura Jervis. "All of those actions -- while basically impossible to include within a capital development budget -- are ultimately critical to the long term viability of the project."


LOIs will be most competitive if the applicant has obtained (or is close to obtaining) site control and should evidence resources (land, funding, development partnerships, etc.) that are committed or very likely to be committed in support of achieving plan objectives. 


LOIs must be received electronically by 3:00pm on Friday, February 22, 2013. To read the request and the Network's full analysis, visit our website here

NYC conducts inaugural Youth Count
14 counting centers opened on night of HOPE Count
Volunteers from the Ali Forney Center, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, Citizens' Committee for Children of New York and the Network pose during last week's homeless youth count.
Each year, New York City conducts a point-in-time count of the City's homeless population, including an overnight canvassing of our city streets. This year, the federal government asked NYC to be one of nine cities to conduct a supplemental survey of homeless youth.

The Network and the Ali Forney Center (AFC), on behalf of the NYC Continuum of Care (CoC), welcomed this opportunity to bring greater attention to this mostly overlooked and severely under-resourced population. They spearheaded this inaugural youth count with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and the runaway and homeless youth provider community.

The count took place at 14 drop-in centers and supportive housing residences across the city. Homeless young people ages 12-24 were asked to visit one of these sites and answer a comprehensive survey on their living status. Once there, they received gift cards, a warm meal and a chance to speak with counselors. The count, like the citywide street count, HOPE, lasted until 4am on the morning of January 29.

Organizations like the Lantern Group, showed remarkable dedication in helping the city capture an accurate number of its homeless young adults.

"While we did not see the volume of youth we expected to, since most of us are keenly aware of how many young people have no stable home to reside in, we 
were reminded again of why we do this work," said Mary Adams, Clinical Director of Youth & Family Services at Lantern Group. "The young people who dropped in were polite and well mannered and were hungry. Most described years of living on the streets, estranged from parents, the foster care system and rarely having an adult they could count on. The look in their eyes was nothing less than exhaustion. At least for the time they were in our programs they were warm, given food and surrounded by adults who truthfully 'got it' and were simply staying at work until 4am to make sure every young person who dropped-in would be counted."

Lantern offered three of its residences as sites to conduct the Youth Count. Other organizations that participated include AFC, Safe Horizon, Cardinal McCloskey, Good Shepherd Services, Common Ground, Covenant House, The Door, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, Project Hospitality, Ravenswood Community Center and SCO Family of Services.

The Youth Count was not without its implementation challenges; partners had less than three months to plan, fund-raise and organize it -- three months that included Hurricane Sandy. But this first effort set the groundwork for future, more comprehensive counts. It will also provide the CoC with invaluable data to help bring more attention and resources for homeless youth. The findings from the survey will be released in early spring.

We thank everyone who helped this pilot effort happen, especially AFC, the Palette Fund, DYCD, A. Larovere Consulting, the Doe Fund and all the private individual donors for their financial and food donations, and Citizens Committee for Children for the sheer number of volunteers who offered up their night to help in this important endeavor. Most of all, we want to thank the youth providers who dropped everything to help us count and, more importantly, help connect with and better understand homeless and at-risk youth. 
Groundbreaking held for Creston Ave.
First residence funded through new Medicaid program
Partners gather to celebrate the groundbreaking of Creston Ave., a planned supportive housing project in the Bronx.
On January 25, Volunteers of America Greater New York (VOA) broke ground on the first supportive housing development to be funded under the state's new Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Housing Capital Program: Creston Avenue Residence.


This $25 million project, located in the Bronx neighborhood of Fordham, will soon provide 66 apartments for a mix of low-income families, high-need Medicaid users and disabled veterans. It marks the ninth supportive housing residence from VOA, which operates more than 1,000 units across the state.

VOA Chief Executive Officer Richard Motta served as emcee for the groundbreaking and introduced Creston Avenue's private developer, Robert Sanborn of the Housing Collaborative. Sanborn referenced the importance of VOA's vision within the community and the many housing advocates who worked to "create a funding source unprecedented in affordable housing in the U.S."

NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR) President of Finance & Development Marian Zucker also took the stage to further recognize the project as one made possible by Governor Cuomo and the MRT.

"The supportive housing community knows what works," Ms. Zucker said. "You've been doing it for decades."

Other speakers included representatives from the Bronx Borough President's office, the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) and JP Morgan Chase and RedStone, who served as investor and bond financier of the project, respectively. The slate of speakers also included Network Executive Director Ted Houghton.

"The number one social determinate of health is housing," said Houghton, "and this one building will save about $1.5 million per year in Medicaid costs to the taxpayer."

Ongoing social services for Creston Avenue are provided through the NYS Office of Mental Health. The project received $12.3 million in bond financing and a $375,000 Subsidy Bridge Loan from the Housing Finance Agency of HCR; $8.14 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits and $4.5 million in State Low Income Housing Tax Credits; a $2.62 million loan provided by the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team; a $4.4 million loan from the State's Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP); a $114,313 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing tenant-based voucher subsidies for approximately 24 units.

The building was designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning and will be constructed by Sisca Northeast, Inc.

We congratulate VOA and its partners on this exciting groundbreaking and thank the Cuomo administration for its continued efforts to expand supportive housing production.

Obama signs Sandy assistance bill
New York City, State receive nearly $3.5B in initial aid

President Obama signed a $50.5 billion supplemental spending bill to support Hurricane Sandy relief on January 29.

 

The bill includes $16 billion in funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, much of which can be used to build and restore affordable housing. On February 6, HUD allocated just over one-third of this funding to five states and New York City. The agency allocated $1.71 billion to the state and $1.77 to the city. See this press release for the full details.  

 

The Network continues to update its website with Sandy-related materials. To learn if you can apply for a disaster loan, public assistance or other forms of aid, see here

Green Housing Initiative set to transform
Network will say farewell to initiative director this month

BEST green logo The Network is transforming its Green Housing Initiative in 2013.  

 

The Green Housing Initiative began in 2009, when we embarked on a partnership with the Association for Energy Affordability (AEA). Together, our organizations helped supportive housing residences receive energy retrofits through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The initiative helped enroll more than 2,600 apartments into WAP and assisted another 1,600 to receive efficiency upgrades through Con Edison's Multifamily Energy Efficiency Program.

The Network's green team has also organized more than 20 sustainability-related workshops through the Managing Lean and Green workshop series and the New York State Supportive Housing Conference. They're now currently winding down the two-year Living Green Tenant Conservation Education program, through which tenants and staff at ten residences were trained in energy conservation strategies.

2013 marks a year of major transition for the initiative. Ariel Krasnow, Director of the Green Housing Initiative, will leave the Network at the end of February. Ariel, an experienced architect, will return to the work of architecture and planning at a small design and development firm in Brooklyn. When Ariel joined us in 2010, we could have scarcely imagined how expansive the Green Housing Initiative would become in just two short years. As the numbers above suggest, her tenure with the Network has been remarkably fruitful. She has left an indelible mark on our organization, and we will miss her greatly come March.

Johanna Walczyk, Program Associate for the Green Housing Initiative, has begun her new role as Program Analyst for the Network's policy and advocacy department. Her primary role is to provide policy analysis, advocacy and technical assistance on supportive housing development in the City while providing additional support to the Network's overall advocacy agenda. She will continue to be a resource for the greening of supportive housing and, in particular, opportunities for energy efficiency for Network members.

As we say farewell to Ariel and the Green Housing Initiative as we previously knew it, we look forward to continuing our work in 2013 to advocate for the highest quality supportive housing.
First of four new crisis respite centers opens in NYC
Centers part of the new Parachute NYC program
The first of four new crisis respite centers in New York City. The centers are part of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)'s Parachute NYC program. Network members will operate three of the four centers. Photo courtesy of Community Access.
Community Access has unveiled the first of four new "crisis respite centers," which will provide an alternative to hospitalization for New Yorkers experiencing extreme psychiatric distress. The center, which opened on January 10 at 315 Second Ave. in Manhattan, is part of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)'s Parachute NYC program. In all, the project will include four crisis respite centers, mobile crisis teams and a support line.

Unlike hospitals, Parachute NYC's respite centers will offer warm, home-like environments with 24-hour peer support, self-help training and other services. They will be open to permanently housed individuals experiencing psychosis-related crisis. The remaining three centers will open through 2014 and will be operated by various NYC nonprofits, including Network members Services for the UnderServed (SUS) and Transitional Services of New York, Inc. Individuals in need can stay at these centers for up to two weeks. Centers can accommodate seven people at a given time.

For a period of up to one year, mobile crisis teams will also conduct similar work outside the respite centers. These teams will engage people experiencing psychiatric crises and help them develop a sustainable support network, with the ultimate goal of avoiding traumatizing trips to the emergency room.

"Parachute NYC is a great example of how providers and government can partner to bring about large-scale, systemic change that will improve health care for thousands of people and save millions of dollars in taxpayer money," says Steve Coe, Executive Director of Community Access. "It's a common sense approach that treats people in need with respect and dignity."

Parachute NYC is projected to reduce health care expenditures by $50 million over the next three years.

The support line, operated by Community Access, will go live on February 15. The number is 646-741-HOPE.

We wish our members and all government and nonprofit partners the best of luck with this new venture! 
Network, CUCS collaborate on trainings
Members to get discounted rates for trainings statewide
CUCS logo better This year, the Network is expanding its partnership with the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) to offer more than 20 days of supportive housing trainings across seven regions of New York State. The series, which began as a pilot last year, will offer professional trainings on a range of service and operations topics of particular concern to supportive housing staff.

While several of the trainings, including "Continuous Quality Improvement," are scheduled, we invite members to request topics to shape future trainings. All trainings will be available at discounted rates to Network members.

Several of these trainings can be used toward Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) certification. See here for a complete list of all currently scheduled trainings.

If you have questions or would like to request a topic for future trainings, please email the Network's Wren Longno.
Largest Upstate program gets new digs
YMCA in Schenectady to move tenants by end of 2013

A recent $5.5 million tax credit award from NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR) will allow 155 tenants currently living in rooms at the old YMCA in downtown Schenectady on State Street to move into newly-renovated efficiency apartments by the end of 2013. The YMCA is the largest supportive housing building in Upstate New York and ensuring its tenants had decent housing after the old building was swapped in a deal with Metroplex, the local community development agency, has proved challenging.

The new award, part of the Unified Funding Round, received early consideration because 47 of the tenants are veterans in need of continued supportive housing.

"My goal over the last 10 years was to bring dignity to the program," said Capital Region YMCA Executive Director Lou Magliocca in a recent Albany Times Union article. "This is almost a miracle."
 
A huge congrats to Capital Region YMCA staff and tenants! 

Chris Molnar, NYC advocate, passes away
Safe Space CEO leaves behind a legacy of helping those in need

The Network was shocked and saddened last month by the passing of Chris Molnar, President and CEO of Safe Space, a child-welfare nonprofit in Queens. Ms. Molnar collapsed suddenly during a year-end party for Safe Space on January 11. She was just 47 years old.

 

Ms. Molnar devoted 20 years of her young life to help advance social justice programs and policies. She became the President of Safe Space, a nonprofit that serves more than 14,000 children and families a year, in 2009. Prior to joining that organization, she served as the Vice President of Policy, Advocacy and Strategy at the Community Service Society for 14 years.

 

Ms. Molnar also sat alongside Network Executive Director Ted Houghton on the board of directors for Human Services Council.

 

"She affected so many in her too-short life and our thoughts are with them at this time of sorrow: her agency, the sector, her friends and most of all her family," said Human Services Council Executive Director Michael Stoller.

 

Safe Space will hold an event to celebrate the life of Ms. Molnar on March 7 at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center. To learn more about Ms. Molnar and her remarkable work at Safe Space, see this piece in the New York Times.

Network members win micro-unit award
Winning team includes Actors Fund, Monadnock
A rendering of a micro-unit apartment, courtesy of the NYC Mayor's Office. 

The Bloomberg administration has announced the winners of adAPT NYC, a competition to design and develop a "micro-unit" apartment building in New York City. The winning team includes two Network members: The Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation and Monadnock Construction, Inc. Together with nARCHITECTS, these organizations will create a 55-unit residence in Manhattan, which will contain low- and middle-income apartments ranging between 250 to 370 square feet.  

The City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) selected the winning design from a total of 33 proposals. Construction will begin shortly on the micro-units at the Brooklyn Navy Yards, where Capsys prefabricates the units using modular construction. Tenants are expected to move into the residence, called My Micro NY, by the fall of 2015.

"We are proud to be a member of the development team, to be at the vanguard of implementing Mayor Bloomberg's vision to provide a new and innovative option for attractive affordable housing that responds to the changing demographics and preferences of New York City's residents," said Scott Weiner, President of the Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation.

Congrats to The Actors Fund, Monadnock and nARCHITECTS on winning this prestigious, high-profile competition!

Network senior staff receive promotions
A new management structure for a growing community, organization
The Network is pleased to announce changes in its management structure to recognize the critical roles played by two of its senior staff.

After almost eight years with the Network, the last six as Director of Policy, Nicole Branca will become the organization's first Deputy Executive Director. Similarly, Cynthia Stuart, the Network's Communications Director of more than six years, will become the Network's Chief Operating Officer.

Both promotions better represent the critical, and complementary, roles Nicole and Cynthia have come to play in leading the Network in its mission. Nicole will now oversee and direct all of the Network's policy, research and advocacy activities, while Cynthia will have responsibility for the Network's administration, member services, events, communications, community relations, personnel, finances and fundraising.

 

"The Network Board of Directors is delighted to acknowledge the important contributions both Nicole and Cynthia have made to the Network's emergence as a leader of the supportive housing community," said Network Board Chair Bill Traylor. "These well-deserved promotions will allow them to continue to lead this growth, while freeing up Ted Houghton's time for long-range planning and further elevating supportive housing's place in the public sphere."

In addition to these changes, Soheil Rezayazdi has also become the Network's Communications Officer. You can click on any of the hyperlinked names in this article to email and congratulate our staff.

In This Issue
State Budget
City Budget
HASA RFP
DB SHARE
Youth Count
Creston Ave.
Sandy Bill
Green Initiative
Crisis Centers
CUCS Trainings
Capital Region YMCA
Chris Molnar
Micro-Units
Network Staff
Join Our Mailing List
Save the Date:
June 6

Mark your calendars: We've finalized the date for the 13th annual New York State Supportive Housing Conference! We hope you clear your schedules and join us on Thursday, June 6 at the New York Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. As always, this all-day event will feature workshops, networking opportunities, special guest speakers and much more. To learn more about last year's workshop, visit the Network's website. See you in June!
  Upcoming  
Events

The Network is co-sponsoring a training with the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) on February 15. The training, titled "Continuous Quality Improvement," will take place in New York City at CUCS' office. To learn more about these trainings and how you can attend, please visit our Upcoming Events page
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Check out these job openings and many others on our Jobs Board. Network members can post their employment opportunities for free!
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Comings & Goings
FEBRUARY 8 WILL MARK KATHY McDermott's last day as Chief Financial Officer at the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS). Ms. McDermott has held this position for 15 years. During her tenure, CUCS has grown from an operating budget of $8.5 million to one over $35 million. The organization has also developed 250 units of supportive housing, a first for CUCS. Ms. McDermott considers these successes among her proudest achievements with the organization. She will begin her new position as Associate Dean for Finance and Resource Development at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. We're certainly sad to see her leave the supportive housing arena, but we of course wish her best in her new position.

MAUREEN FRIAR WAS HIRED IN January as the Strategic Development Officer at Community Access. This new position focuses on major donor cultivation and strategic alliances to grow Community Access's hospital-diversion and consumer-employment programs. The job marks Ms. Friar's much-welcomed return to the world of New York supportive housing. From 1993 to 2006, Ms. Friar served as Executive Director of the Network. Under her watch, the Network blossomed from an ad hoc NYC coalition into the robust, statewide membership organization it is today. Following her time with us, Ms. Friar served as President and CEO of the National Housing Conference in Washington, DC and was Principal of Friar Strategies. We remain forever grateful for the foundation she laid during her 13 years with the Network, and we're thrilled to have her back in New York. You can reach her here