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POLICY MATTERS
A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.
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Help Care for the Homeless Avoid the “Fiscal Cliff”
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September 30th is the end of the federal government fiscal year, but it could turn out to be the “Fiscal Cliff” for federal community health centers across the United States, unless the federal government takes action to both reauthorize spending on its Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and appropriates adequate funding to pay for them by October 1
st
. That reauthorization and appropriation requirement is what’s called the fiscal cliff, because failure to accomplish those two things over the next three weeks jeopardizes the operation of federally funded community health centers.
Federally funded health centers provide services to 27 million vulnerable patients nationally, including the 8-to-10,000 unstably housed people Care for the Homeless serves at our health centers in four of the 5 boroughs of New York City. There are more than 1,400 nonprofit federal community health centers operating over 10,000 delivery sites across the country.
Community health centers, like Care for the Homeless, have consistently been rated as the most cost-effective local solution to our most pressing national health care problem: providing comprehensive quality primary and preventative health care to the people most in need and often with the least access.
Read more.
Please join with us in contacting your members of Congress, both in the House and Senate, and remind them that both the authorization for funding health centers like Care for the Homeless, and the appropriation for those grants, will expire on September 30
,
in just 22 days
, unless they take action before the federal fiscal year ends. You can reach your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 or you can find your representatives
here.
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CFH Urges Everyone to Vote
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New York’s primary election will be next week on September 12
th
,
the general election is November 7
th
. Voters in these elections will decide on the leaders for New York City and other local governments throughout New York State. Unfortunately, New York State has one of the worst voter turnout records in the country.
Read more.
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There are many reasons for such low voter turnout. Unfortunately, classism and misinformation are among those reasons. Poor people are more likely to move frequently or experience homelessness. Many people think that they need a permanent home address to register to vote, but anyone with a valid address to receive mail can register and vote in New York. People with past involvement in the criminal justice system often think they have lost their right to vote. In New York those with felony convictions do not become disenfranchised. Their voting rights are automatically restored upon completion of parole and people on probation
can
legally vote. However many ex-offenders are not told that they can and should re-register.
Reformers have advocated for election reform methods that include same-day voter registration (which 14 states already have), consolidated and open primaries, automatic voter registration through the state Department of Motor Vehicles, and reforming the early voting process. CFH supports these reforms and overhauls. We organize an annual voter registration drive, now actively going on, targeted to our clients and staff and led by the client leader members of our Consumer Advocacy Board (CAB). We have three scheduled Voter Registration Drives this month (see our Busy Advocate’s Schedule for times and locations). Anyone needing assistance can contact any CFH CAB member for forms and help. As a non-partisan non-profit organization we never endorse candidates, political parties or partisan activities, but we urge everyone to make their voice heard by voting.
If you would like to participate in our voter registration drive or receive registration forms please contact us at
policy@cfhnyc.org
or call (212) 366-4459 ext. 239. The last day to register to vote in the November general election is October 13th.
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Call Your NY State Senator!
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At Care for the Homeless we fight for polices that prevent and end homelessness. One very effective method for preventing homelessness is to keep people from losing their homes in the first place. That is why we endorse and are actively advocating for Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s proposed “Home Stability Support” (HSS) legislation, which seeks to modernize the state’s rental subsidy allowance program for families receiving public assistance. The program was created in 1975 and initially paid for a family’s rent in full but it has failed to keep up with the rising costs of rent. Currently 171,000 households are part of the program and more than two-thirds have rents that far exceed the current allowance levels.
Read more.
In the 2017-2018 State Budget the HSS Legislation was included in the Assembly One House Budget Bill but neither the Senate or the Governor signed on to it. Assemblyman Hevesi is currently meeting with NY State Senators to encourage them to include the HSS in the Senate priorities for the 2018-2019 Budget. Please join Care for the Homeless in advocating for this important piece of legislation call your State Senator and tell them to sign on and support the Home Stability Support Legislation. You can find your State Senator
here.
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Jeff Foreman, CFH’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, was the 2017 Hero Award recipient presented by the NYC Providers of Health Care for the Homeless and voted on by the Care for the Homeless staff. The award is presented annually to service providers for people experiencing homelessness in New York City who exemplify commitment to clients. Jeff embodies that with his tireless commitment to advocacy and legislative initiatives to end Homelessness in New York, which has made him a Hero for the Care for the Homeless organization.
Thank you Jeff Foreman for the work that you do and thank you to all of the hardworking, committed and selfless service providers in New York City who dedicate their time and energy to providing high quality services to those that are in most need.
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The Busy Advocate's September Calendar
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Thur., Sept. 7th, 1:30 p.m., Stated Meeting New York City Council,
this meeting will be open to the public. City Council Chambers, New York City Hall, New York, NY 10007.
Mon., Sept. 11th, 5:00 p.m., CFH “First Monday” Policy Briefing on Federal Budget Issues and Homelessness Issues,
CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan, NY.
Tue., Sept. 12th, 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m, Primary Election Day;
Democratic and Republican Party primary elections for NYC Mayor, City Council, Public Advocate, Comptroller, and some district party positions, (eligible absentee ballots must be postmarked on or before September 11th to be counted). VOTE!
Tue., Sept. 12th 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., CFH Voter Registration Drive at Peter Jay Sharp Center for Opportunity,
Peter J. Sharp, 89 Porter Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237.
To receive important information on voting and to order voter registration applications please contact
policy@cfhnyc.org
.
Tue., Sept. 19th, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., CFH Voter Registration Drive at All Angels' Church,
251 W 80th St, New York, NY 10024.
Tue., Sept. 26th, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., CFH Voter Registration Drive at Susan’s Place,
1911-21 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY 10453.
Wed., Sept. 27th, 1:30 p.m., New York City Council Meeting,
this meeting will be open to the public. City Council Chambers, New York City Hall, New York, NY 10007.
Wed., Sept. 27th, 12:30 p.m., CAB Client Leader Meeting,
CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan, NY.
Thur., Sept. 28th, 10:00 a.m., NY City Council Hearing, joint meeting of Council’s General Welfare Committee and Committee on Youth Services.
This will be a hearing for Councilman Corey D. Johnson’s bill requiring the Department of Youth and Community Development to issue reports on numbers of runaway and homeless youth turned away from shelter.
City Council Chambers, New York City Hall, New York, NY 10007.
Mon., Oct. 2nd, 5:00 p.m., CFH “First Monday” Policy Briefing on Barriers to Housing that Street Homeless Face,
Corporation for Supportive Housing (
CSH) Conference Room, 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, Suite 2300.
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A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.
Thank you for your generous support of our mission.
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