Are the Current Homeless Programs in NYC Working?

Revolving Door:
How the Bloomberg Administration is Putting Thousands of
Formerly-Homeless Families at Risk of Returning to Homelessness
July 20, 2010

By Giselle Routhier, Policy Analyst, Coalition for the Homeless

Amidst record family homelessness and high unemployment, the Bloomberg administration is
putting thousands of formerly-homeless families at risk of returning to homelessness by cutting
them off from rental assistance under the three-year-old Advantage program. And to make
matters worse, this summer the administration will enact changes to the Advantage program
that will accelerate the program’s “revolving door” back to homelessness.
• By the end of 2010, more than 7,400 formerly-homeless Advantage NY families will have
lost their rental assistance and will be at risk of re-entering the shelter system. By the end of
2011, more than 7,100 additional families will lose their rental assistance.
• Many Advantage families have already become homeless again. By October of last year
more than 900 re-applications for shelter had been filed by Advantage NY families,
representing as much as two-thirds of all expired Advantage NY families at that time – and
the pace of return to homelessness is accelerating.
• The Bloomberg administration’s planned changes to the Advantage program are deeply
unrealistic and make a flawed program even worse. Indeed, the changes reduce the number
of homeless families eligible for rental assistance, and threaten to cut off rental assistance to
many families after one year instead of two years.
• The Bloomberg administration should halt the changes to the Advantage program and
instead craft a rental assistance program that works like the proven, effective Federal
housing voucher program – a long-term, flexible subsidy that effectively bridges the gap
between income and rent.
• Additionally, the administration needs to reverse its 2005 decision to cut off families from
receiving priority for proven Federal housing programs like public housing.
Record Family Homelessness and New York City’s Housing Affordability Crisis
New York City is in the throes of a historic homelessness crisis. Currently, more than 37,000
men, women and children bed down in municipal shelters each night, including nearly 10,000
families with 15,000 children. The number of homeless families in New York City shelters hit alltime
record levels during the past year. Indeed, under Mayor Bloomberg, New York City’s
homeless population has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s.


More Information: Coalition for the Homeless