POLICY MATTERS

 A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.
April 2018
Victory in Budget Avoids Catastrophic Program Cuts
People experiencing homelessness and people living in poverty won a critical victory in late March when the federal budget was signed into law, avoiding a government shutdown and funding vital health care and housing programs.  Read more here.

The good news is, after all the advocacy work we, along with so many others, did in conjunction with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and the National Association of Community Health Centers, funding for community health centers was not just saved – but increased! Three weeks before the budget adoption the biggest part of federal funding for community health centers, in the off-budget Community Health Center Fund, was reauthorized through FY2019, with a total $600 million funding increase for fiscal year 2018 and 2019. When the budget was adopted on March 22, in-budget funding for community health centers was also increased by $135 million. Read more here.

Even the HUD budget and its numerous programs for housing people experiencing homelessness, very low-income people, and programs for developing more affordable housing, overcame the administration’s effort to slash their budget by up to $6 billion. In the end, the HUD budget was increased by $4.7 billion over 2017 funding levels. This includes increases for tenant-based rental assistance, Veterans Administration Supportive Housing vouchers and project-based rental assistance programs. Funding for public housing capital projects was increased by $800 million, and the public housing operating fund was increased by $150 million. Funding specifically for homeless assistance programs won a $130 million increase over 2017 levels.

While there is still a looming threat to slash programs that are essential to our clients, this budget at least assures New York City can increase federal housing vouchers rather than lose current vouchers, as the administration budget would have done, and provides reasonable federal funding for community health centers and other safety net programs.

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Right to Counsel In Housing Courts Kicks Off
Last year Care for the Homeless was one of many advocacy organizations celebrating as City Council adopted a “Right to Counsel” program for New Yorkers facing eviction or foreclosure in Housing Court. In a small demonstration project, the program proved to reduce eviction filings by a whopping 25%, addressing one of the primary causes of homelessness. It’s a major issue because landlords sue over 200,000 tenants in Housing Court annually in New York City. The right to counsel extends to NYCHA public housing cases involving termination of tenancy.

The right to counsel is being phased in over five years. When fully implemented in 2022, it will be available to every New Yorker, regardless of documentation or any other status, facing any kind eviction or foreclosure filing. Households earning up to 200% of the federally set poverty threshold (in 2018, $24,280 for a single person; $32,920 for two people), will get an attorney to consult with who will also accompany them to court. Those over the income limit still have the opportunity to consult with legal counsel.

This year the right to counsel is available in 15 zip codes in the city, including three codes in each of the five boroughs. The initial zip codes included are:
  • In the Bronx: 10457, 10467, 10468
  • In Brooklyn: 11216, 11221, 11225
  • In Manhattan: 10025, 10026, 10027
  • In Queens: 11373, 11433, 11434
  • On Staten Island: 10302, 10303, 10314

Some details are being worked out, and many people still have questions about the Right to Counsel program and how it will work. During April, a town hall style meeting will be held in each of the five boroughs, free and open to the public, to explain Right to Counsel, and answer all questions. The times, dates and locations of each of the meetings is listed in the calendar section of this newsletter, with information about how to RSVP to attend.  

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SNAP Food Nutrition Program Under Fire,
Public Comments Invited
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the organization that runs the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is seeking public input as they consider new and sometimes onerous limitations on the largest food nutrition program in America. You are invited to submit your comments, but you have until the end of the day on Monday (April 9) to do it. Read more here.

Research shows SNAP promotes long-term health and well-being for those who receive it, and especially so for children. Studies also show SNAP reduces poverty and food insecurity and improves economic, health and educational outcomes. Another study documented that low-income adults receiving SNAP spent on average $1,400 less on healthcare than those who didn’t get SNAP.

Nearly half of SNAP participants are children. Another 21% are elderly or disabled. More than half of non-elderly/non-disabled SNAP participants live with children. Forty percent of SNAP households earn 50% or less of the poverty threshold. Another 42% earn between 51-100% of the poverty threshold. In households with a working-age non-disabled adult, over 82% have someone working within a year after getting SNAP benefits. And SNAP is efficient: over 93% of federal funding for SNAP goes directly to food benefits, with under 7% going to administrative or other costs.  Read more here.

Now the Department of Agriculture is considering changes to SNAP, including new rules imposing stricter limits on the amount of time non-disabled adults of working age not raising children can receive SNAP, with advocates concerned that the restrictions and more onerous rules and procedures could throw hundreds of thousands of people in need of nutrition assistance off SNAP.

For example, the Department is reviewing how it could act on limiting waivers to non-disabled adults without children, they say, to help “SNAP recipients find and maintain meaningful employment. They are also considering changes to “the appropriate scope of conditions and indicators of physical or mental unfitness for employment”, including “who should determine whether a participant is fit to work.”

As of Tuesday, April 3, only 747 written comments had been received by the Department of Agriculture. You’re invited to send your comments on the SNAP program to the Department on line at http://www.regulations.gov or by mail at SNAP Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Services, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 812, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302. All public comments submitted on or before April 9, 2018, will be included in the official record and are subject to public disclosure.   

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The Busy Advocate's April Calendar
Wed., April 11th, 1:30 p.m., Stated Meeting at New York City Council, to focus on three administrative codes and laws concerning affordable housing plans addressing historic patterns of racial segregation, and expiring affordable housing units. City Council Chambers, New York, NY 10007.

Thur., April 12th, 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Bronx Informational Town Hall on “Right to Counsel for Tenants”, Monroe College, 2501 Jerome Ave., Bronx, 10468. Register here.
 
Thur., April 12th, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Queens Informational Town Hall on “Right to Counsel for Tenants”, St. Bartholomew's Church, 44-15 Judge St., Queens, 11373. Register here .

Fri., April 13th, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Affordable Housing in NYC Workshop, hosted by the Actors Fund, about how to apply for affordable housing. Queens Council on the Arts, 37-11 35th Ave., enter on 37th St., Astoria, 11101. More information here.
 
Wed., April 18, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Brooklyn Informational Town Hall on “Right to Counsel for Tenants”, St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf, 260 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn, 11225. Register here.

Sat., April 21st, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Staten Island Informational Town Hall on “Right to Counsel for Tenants”, Faith United Methodist Church, 221 Heberton Ave., Staten Island, 10302. Register here .

Wed., April 25th, 12:30 p.m., CAB Client Leader Meeting, CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan.
 
Mon., May 7th, 5:30 p.m., CFH First Monday Policy Briefing, “Not A Crime To Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty”, CFH Conference Room, 30 E. 33rd Street, Manhattan.  RSVP here.

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A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.  

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