Follow The Money...

Something fishy is going on, this pissing match between the N.Y. Gov. and the N.Y. Mayor just seemed a little personal. So i did a little digging. It seems there's a lot of interest in Homeless shelters, and i mean Interest (Dividends) 70 new shelters are waiting for contracts, some up and running in the city. At 200+ beds a piece, and HRA(Taxpayers) paying up to $4,000.00 per family per month...That's roughly $56,000,000 per month in revenue for the owner of these facilities. So then you start peeling these layers down, and you start seeing building contracts, zoning, Special Interest groups, Unions, and Lobbyists all have a hand in this deal gone bad. Or has it gone bad. A chance to rake in millions a month in revenue isn't that bad, Is it? Even at the expense of 15,000 families, thousands of landlords, and countless other trickle down victims?


http://www.nazarethhousingnyc.org/Home.html


http://www.nazarethhousingnyc.org/Documents/Advocate.pdf


http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/03/nyc-homeless-services-commissioner-on-threat-to-advantage-shelter-program-deva

Advantage Tenants... VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFO

If you are an Advantage tenant, and you've come across this website, Please Hurry, If you have recieved a notification in the mail, stating your subsidy will be cut, you have sixty(60) days from this notice to apply for a fair hearing. This is not true. YOU HAVE 10 DAYS FROM THE DATE ON THIS LETTER to apply for a fair hearing. The city is obligated to pay your rent until your hearing date. YOU MUST NOT WAIT. Continue to pay your portion of the rent. DO NOT VACATE your apartments in fear, the proper lawful channels still apply. you do not have to take this lying down. FIGHT!!! DO YOU REMEMBER THAT SHELTER? DO YOU WANT TO GO BACK!!!! WELL FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!!!! YOU ARE A CITIZEN TOO!!!! DON'T BE WHAT THEY THINK WE ARE. THEY ARE BUILDING 70 NEW SHELTERS IN THE CITY JUST WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN. WILL YOU BE THERE?  Let's make'em build all that sh!% in vein.

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/advantage-tenants-information-from-the-legal-aid-society

Advantage...Kaput? Follow these links for info

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/blog/entry/tell-mayor-bloomberg-dont-play-politics-with-homeless-childrens-lives/

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/blog/entry/latest-updates-on-advantage/

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/page/-/Advantage--LegalAid--CitycommitmentstopayAdvantagerent3-14-2011.pdf

My Letter to the Mayor....

Fix Advantage!

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

Already Thousands of families are returning to the shelter system due to the lack of knowledge and training of protocol in the switch from old Advantage program and the New Work advantage program. I am in danger of being a part of one of those families. Last year I lost my job as a contracted computer repair technician. To make matters more stressful, my wife was pregnant with twin boys and considered extremely high risk. She was taken out of work as well. We went from 'well off' to 'oh well' very quickly, when rent got too far behind and was evicted with newborns and a two year old. With a slither of hope in the shelter system, we entered a family shelter, with a rodent problem, in an industrial area full of crime and loiterers. After much consideration and begging my wife to stay and see what help we could receive, I'm still left with that slither, if not less.

With the new 30% voucher which we have now that expires October 30, 2010, we haven't even been filled in properly on what we need, how much we need, and how not to be taken advantage of. With my family size, we require at least a three bedroom, and there are little to no three bedroom in the city for $1,316. So what happens? Side deals where Landlords ask for more than the voucher, and three to six months rent up front, which is supposed to be prohibited. If i had 2 or 3k to blow on rent, would we be in this situation?

In today's harsh economic climate and difficult job market, putting thousands of families at risk of re-entering shelter is a devastating blow to both these families and New York City taxpayers.

I urge you to immediately reform the Advantage program by providing longer, more flexible assistance that effectively bridges the gap between incomes and rents. Doing so would provide these families with the stability they need to grow into financial independence.

Additionally, homeless families should be prioritized for federal housing assistance, including Section 8 and public housing, as they have been in the past. This tool has been shown to permanently keep families out of homelessness.

We cannot tolerate a family experiencing homelessness even once. Twice is unimaginable. I urge you to do the right thing by these families.

DHS Room Inspections leaves us uneasy.

Now we are pretty clean. Mop twice a day, constantly wiping stuff down, walls, tables, toilets, floors, spotless(You have too with a toddler and twins in a mouse infested building). So why do i feel dirty and judged after their inspection. First of all the worker came in with an attitude and very judge-mental. Nit-Picking and asking about the unusable cribs and extra beds that the staff hasn't moved out the room yet after 3 months. Outlets with no covers, also not my fault, ask your staff, not me...and asking about my desktop, which is required for the power and ram hungry programs i need for school and work. So your telling me i need to quit school and work to stay here right? But I thought I need to work for my Voucher? This is the Loopty Loop Bull$#!t we have to deal with here, and I can't take it anymore.

Voucher Discrimination?

It seems that there is an influx of ads for apartments at around $1550 3bdrms, looking for $1318 and $1481 vouchers(side deals will not be honored in the voucher which means anything over your vouchers size will not be considered). With the captions "must be linked by September 1". Well if you know what I know, that is because the last round of $50 vouchers(client pays only $50) expires on the first of September. Well what about us working class people with the 30% vouchers? Like it's not already hard enough to find someone accepting these stigmatas. You would rather take the chance of having to evict someone in a year or two because, $50 to $1500 dollars is unreasonable, unfair,and just plain ridiculous. so My family gets overlooked and doesn't even get calls back, and we both work. There is a war on the middle class, Knowledge is your ammunition. Are you armed?

Kind of Ironic...

I think it's kind of ironic that the weekend before the NYC Comptroller's audits to The Department of Homeless Services, The Shelter I'm in starts sprucing up the place, changing hallway doors, making sure the rooms are cleaned with surprise inspections, case workers on overtime. Since I've gotten here over 90 days ago, no lie I  caught a literal average of 1 mouse a day for 30 days, some days nothing, and some days 3 or four mice on one trap, and a bed-bug infestation. Who does that inspection, the inspection of 3 year old dirt, hair and mouse skeletons with fur that I pulled out of the air conditioner's filter, so much it left a six by six inch pile. My kids shouldn't have to breathe that or endure scores of rodents that have been here so long they jump over the glue traps. Better look up DEP's (Department of Environmental Protection) number on Monday.