December 20, 2021
Dear Community Partner:
Thank you for your ongoing partnership in our shared commitment to serve New Yorkers in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following our standing weekly call, we continue to share important updates as well as an ongoing synopsis of the information shared in prior communications on our DSS COVID-19 Community Updates page. We encourage you to use and share this link to answer questions on the many topics we have covered during the pandemic.
To be added to the invitations for the weekly briefing calls or to the distribution list for this weekly update, please send an email request to dssoutreach@dss.nyc.gov.
We appreciate your ongoing participation in these calls and continuing to raise important issues that we are able to address in this weekly communication of the latest information, which you can share with the clients you serve. We welcome your continued questions and comments in order to help us make sure we are providing the most relevant information and clarifications about the evolving public benefits and government services landscape affecting our shared clients.
COVID-19 Vaccination Information
Booster shots remain available to all New Yorkers over the age of 18.
As a reminder the Pfizer vaccine is now approved and available for children 5-11 years old in NYC. Children must have a parent or guardian's consent to get the vaccine. The City has created several resources to provide useful information and help promote the vaccine for children ages 5-11:
Vaccination sites can be found at nyc.gov/vaccinefinder or by calling 877-VAX4-NYC. New Yorkers can also text their ZIP code to 438829 to receive information on vaccination sites near them, including what age groups can be served at each site.
There are now temporary sites in over 1,000 schools for children 5-11 years old. School sites can be found on the DOE website. Beginning on November 30, school vaccination sites at both public and charter schools will begin providing second doses of the vaccine for students who are eligible.
For more information about vaccines and the vaccines for children, families can go to nyc.gov/covidvaccine and see this FAQ, or call 212-COVID19 with questions about the vaccine.
Incentives
As we have previously reported, New Yorkers who receive their first vaccine dose at a City-run vaccine site are eligible to receive a $100 pre-paid debit card. This incentive is now also available at SOMOS Community Care doctors’ offices. To schedule an appointment at a SOMOS location, visit https://www.somosvaccinations.com or call 1-833-SOMOSNY (1-833-766-6769).
An additional $3M has been allotted to extend the NYC vaccine referral bonus program through January 2022. This referral bonus continues to be available to small businesses, restaurants, and civic organizations, including community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and Parent-Teacher Associations. These are all eligible to receive a $100 vaccine referral bonus for each employee or customer who they refer to a City-run vaccine site for their first shot. The referred individual is still eligible to receive their own $100 bonus. To sign up for the program, businesses and organizations should use the this form.
More Information
The City has created a vaccine fact sheet which can be found here, and is available in additional languages here.
Walk-up vaccines are available at most City-operated vaccination sites. To find the nearest walk-up site, or to schedule an appointment at a City-operated site, visit vaccinefinder.nyc.gov. NYC Mobile Vaccine Buses continue to provide vaccines. The full schedule of mobile vaccine locations can be found online here.
Flu vaccines are available at City-operated vaccination sites and can be administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine. Locations can be found at the NYC Vaccine Finder website.
Vaccination and Testing Apps
- CDC Vaccination Card. A digital photo or photocopy of this card is also acceptable.
- NYC Vaccination Record or other official immunization record, including from a health care provider. A digital photo or photocopy of this card is also acceptable. If you are unable to get this record, call 311.
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NYC COVID Safe App. Android. iOS. This app can be used to upload a photo of a vaccine card and/or a recent COVID test. The vaccine card will stay on the app unless removed, but test results will disappear from the app after seven days.
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CLEAR Health Pass. Android. iOS. Individuals can use the digital vaccine card option in the CLEAR app if they are age 18 or older and are fully vaccinated.
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NYS Excelsior Pass (or Excelsior Pass Plus). Allows an individual to find and store proof of vaccination right on their phone with a QR code, or to print out their QR code instead. New York residents who were vaccinated out of State can learn more about their options at the Excelsior Pass FAQ. The app, called NYS Excelsior Pass Wallet, is available for download on iPhone and Android phones.
Vaccine Records
Individuals who are fully vaccinated but have lost their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or need verification of their vaccine status can request a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination record. Individuals cannot get a replacement COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card at this time but can get an official record noting they have been vaccinated. For more information and to submit a request visit: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/cir-parents-guardians.page
COVID-19 Testing
Free testing continues to be available throughout the five boroughs. A schedule of mobile testing locations throughout the City as well as detailed information on locations and types of testing offered at regular testing sites (including rapid testing and antibody tests) can be found here. Locations of testing sites can also be accessed by texting “COVID TEST” to 855-48. These are no cost testing sites open to all New Yorkers.
The Test-and-Trace Corps offers the COVID 19 Wait Times Dashboard, which displays estimated wait times for NYC Health + Hospitals COVID-19 testing locations. This wait time information is updated by site staff every two hours.
Distribution of Rapid Self-Testing Kits and KN95 Masks to CBOs
After participating in an orientation, program partners will receive their initial allocation beginning December 20. Staff from the NYC Test & Trace Corps, the NYC Health Department and NYC Care will work closely with their program partners to plan distribution events, outreach activities and coordinate reporting and replenishment requests. 500,000 rapid tests and 1 million KN95 masks will be distributed via 150 nonprofit partner organizations, the NYC Test & Trace Corps reports. The items will be distributed at the organizations' regularly scheduled events, while some will conduct door-to-door canvassing.
Utility Service Terminations Holiday Moratorium
Each year, all Public Service Commission (PSC) regulated utility companies are required to suspend service terminations for residential natural gas and electricity for the two-week period encompassing the Christmas and New Year holidays. Each utility company establishes its own schedule, which is outlined below:
2021-2022 New York State Service Termination Moratorium Schedule
Con Edison December 20, 2021 to January 2, 2022
National Fuel (NFG) December 19, 2021 to January 2, 2022
National Grid – Metro December 19, 2021 to January 1, 2022
NYS Electric & Gas (NYSEG) December 20, 2021 to January 1, 2022
PSEG December 19, 2021 to January 2, 2022
Municipal electric companies, which are not regulated by the PSC, will have a moratorium period in effect from December 20, 2021 through January 3, 2022.
HEAP applicants whose utility service was terminated prior to the moratorium period, but who applied for a Regular HEAP benefit during that period, must still have their eligibility determined. If they are eligible, a guarantee of payment must be made to the utility company to restore service.
Temporary Assistance applicants or recipients who are scheduled for termination or whose service was terminated prior to the moratorium period must be referred to HEAP.
Eviction and Utility Moratoriums
The utility moratorium (utility shut offs) enacted by NYS for COVID-19 is scheduled to end on December 21, 2021.
The NYS eviction moratorium was extended until January 15, 2022, and has not been further extended at this time. Tenants who have submitted the Hardship Declaration should respond to any court notices they receive indicating that their case is scheduled for a Housing Court hearing.
Free legal advice and other assistance continues to be available to all New York City residential renters through HRA’s Office of Civil Justice, which can be reached by calling 311 and asking for the Tenant Helpline.
Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) 2022
As a reminder, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 5.9 percent increase in benefits for 2022, amounting to an additional $92 per month for the average retired worker. The Social Security Administration is mailing COLA notices throughout December 2021 to retirement, survivors and disability beneficiaries, SSI recipients, and representative payees. Individuals who prefer to access their COLA notice online instead of the mailed notice can log in to their personal my Social Security account to opt-out of a mailed COLA notice. The Social Security Administration has published a fact sheet with more information, accessible here.
State OTDA executed mass re-budgets for CA/SNAP and SNAP-only households impacted by the COLA increase along with a Notice of Mass Change to explain the impact of the COLA increase on their benefits.
Additionally, due to the annual Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cost of living adjustment (COLA) that is effective January 1, 2022, OTDA has announced changes in the New York State Nutrition Improvement Project (NYSNIP) standardized benefit levels and in the shelter cost threshold to be considered high shelter. More information is available here.
Emergency SNAP Allotments
As it has in previous months, the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) will issue an emergency SNAP supplement to households who are issued SNAP benefits for December 2021. The emergency allotment will be the difference between their budgeted allotment and the maximum allotment for their household size or $95, whichever is greater. Further information is available here. As a reminder, these benefits are not on a regular schedule. If clients want to know when their emergency SNAP allotments are available, they can check their available SNAP balance at https://otda.ny.gov/workingfamilies/ebt/.
Emergency HEAP
The 2021-2022 Emergency HEAP benefit will open on January 3, 2022. Households may also be eligible for an emergency benefit if they are in danger of running out of heating fuel or having their utility service shut off. Emergency HEAP benefits and eligibility are based on income, available resources, and the type of emergency.
Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP)
The Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) is effective as of December 1, 2021.
While New York State has the highest SNAP participation rate of any state among adults age 60 and older and individuals with disabilities, historically the participation rate among this population has been lower than among the general population. To ease access to and improve the participation of older adults and adults with disabilities in SNAP, New York State applied to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and has been approved to implement and operate a shorter application beginning in December 2021.
The ESAP is intended to simplify the SNAP application, recertification and verification processes for eligible households, where all adult members are aged and/or have disabilities, thereby facilitating access to and preventing interruptions in receipt of benefits for these households.
Participation in ESAP is limited to households where:
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All adult members are seniors (age 60 or older) and/or have disabilities and are not otherwise eligible to participate in the New York State Combined Application Project or NYSCAP (formerly known as the New York State Nutrition Improvement Project or NYSNIP); and,
- No household members have any earned income.
For the purposes of ESAP, the following definitions apply:
- “Adult” is an individual age 18 or older.
- “Senior/aged/elderly” is an individual age 60 or older.
- “Disabled” – an individual must be in receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits or receiving other federal or state-administered disability or blindness benefits for a disability considered permanent under the Social Security Act or other standard.
Additionally, single individuals in receipt of SSI who are eligible for both ESAP and NYSCAP (formerly NYSNIP) are required to be enrolled in NYSCAP.
Under ESAP, eligible households may now have SNAP certification periods of up to 36 months.
ESAP-eligible clients can download the application form (LDSS-5166 form) here or call Infoline to have the form mailed to them. The application can be completed in hard copy and submitted by mail to:
Centralized Mail Unit
PO Box 29008
Brooklyn, NY 11202
All applications for SNAP will be evaluated for the ESAP extended certification period of 36 months, regardless of whether the LDSS-5166 form is used, or if the regular application is submitted through ACCESS HRA or by mail.
HOPE 2022
On Tuesday, January 25th, 2022, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will conduct its annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) Survey, a point-in-time survey undertaken each winter that helps the City estimate the number of unsheltered New Yorkers living on the street on one of the coldest nights of the year. Volunteers are needed from approximately 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. on the night of January 25th. Please visit nyc.gov/hope to learn more and to register.
New York State Combined Application Project (NYSCAP)
The New York State Combined Application Project (NYSCAP) began on December 1, 2021. NYSCAP is a replacement to the New York State Nutrition Improvement Project (NYSNIP) with the programs running concurrently through 2023 at which point all current NYSNIP cases will have been converted to NYSCAP. The goal of this Federal SNAP Demonstration project is to establish a combined application process with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and to use data readily available to State OTDA to automatically enroll certain SSI households into SNAP.
The NYSCAP automatic auto-enrollment process is the same as the auto-enrollment process for NYSNIP. Single individuals in active receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who do not already have a SNAP case will have a SNAP case automatically created and will be automatically enrolled in NYSCAP. Individuals that meet these conditions and already have an active SNAP case also will be enrolled in NYSCAP.
As in NYSNIP, NYSCAP cases:
- Do not have to submit an application to be enrolled in SNAP.
- Will be opened and will receive a nominal SNAP benefit amount.
- Will receive a NYSCAP Statewide SNAP Case Information Collection Sheet with their opening letter. There is no requirement to return the form, and failure to return it to the district will not result in negative action. It is provided to make it easier for newly enrolled households to qualify for higher benefits.
- Must redeem SNAP benefits within 90 days of the auto-opening. Redemption of the benefits is considered an electronic application signature and assent by the household to participate in SNAP. NYSCAP cases in which benefits are not accessed within 90 days are automatically closed and the benefits expunged.
- Do not have any reporting requirements outside of the required interim contact. However, because NYSCAP cases receive a 36-month (and not a 48-month) certification period, the Interim Contact for NYSCAP is at 18 months into the certification period. Households must return the Case Interim Report to continue receiving NYSCAP benefits.
- Households that fail to return the Interim Report but subsequently return it within 30 days of case closure are eligible for the normal case reactivation process.
Unlike NYSNIP, NYSCAP eligible cases:
- Must participate in NYSCAP in order to receive SNAP.
- Will receive a 36-month certification period.
- Will be opened with the household’s actual SSI and other income budgeted, but with no shelter, Will automatically receive a reminder notice 6 months after opening if the SNAP budget has not been updated. This will provide the household with another opportunity to provide the district with the complete household circumstances to maximize the household’s SNAP benefit. Households that do not respond to this notice will not be subject to negative action, however the household will remain in receipt of a nominal benefit.
NYSCAP Budgeting:
NYSCAP cases will be budgeted according to regular SNAP budgeting rules once information required for the budget (e.g., shelter expense) is provided. Note that NYSCAP cases may attest to the shelter expenses without the need to provide further verification, unless the information provided is deemed questionable.
Interim Contact:
At approximately 18 months into the certification period, NYSCAP households will receive the updated Interim Report which collects all the information about the household circumstances that is required to complete a budget using standard SNAP budgeting procedures. Households are required to respond to the Interim Report and failure to do so will result in case closure.
Recertification:
NYSCAP cases are eligible to recertify over the phone using the interactive voice response system (IVRS). Failing to recertify will result in the case closing.
NYS Excluded Workers Fund Update – Impact of Funds on Benefit Eligibility
We have received an update from the State regarding the impact of funds received under the Excluded Workers Fund (EWF) on Cash Assistance and HEAP benefits. For both benefits, the State has determined that the EWF monies received are considered a one-time lump sum payment and are therefore counted as a resource if they are received in the month of application for HEAP or CA. If the funds are received prior to application, the funds remaining at the time of application will be considered a resource, in accordance with regular income and resource rules.
As we reported previously, for SNAP benefits, one-time lump sum payments are excluded from consideration as income for in the month of receipt of lump sum and as a resource for 12 months following receipt of benefit. Any remaining balance from these payments could affect a household’s eligibility after 12 months if a household subject to a resource test were to have a remaining balance from the payments and the remaining balance caused the household to exceed the resource limit for the benefit for which they were applying.
Medicaid Eligibility for Evacuees from Afghanistan
Effective September 30, 2021, the federal government is providing evacuees from Afghanistan who enter the United States on humanitarian parole access to federal benefits and services through the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. Citizens or nationals of Afghanistan, or individuals with no nationality who last resided in Afghanistan, may be eligible for benefits if they have completed the US Department of Homeland Security’s background checks, their parole has not been terminated by US DHS, and if they were:
- paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022, or
- paroled into the U.S. after September 30, 2022, and are:
- a. the spouse or child of an evacuee from Afghanistan paroled between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022, or
- b. the parent or legal guardian of an unaccompanied child paroled between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022.
The Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 allows these individuals to receive benefits, if otherwise eligible, for a limited time, either through March 31, 2023, or until the end of their parole term, whichever is later.
Increase in State FHEPS Rent Levels to Align with the HUD FMR and CityFHEPS
Governor Hochul has signed legislation to align the State FHEPS rent levels with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Market rent levels similar to what the City has just done for CityFHEPS. We will provide more information on implementation when it becomes available.
Household Income Limits for CityFHEPS Renewals
In accordance with DSS’s recently published final rule, total household income limits for CityFHEPS renewals will now be based on Area Median Income (AMI) instead of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Previously, the maximum gross income for households was up to 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
HASA Rental Assistance
In order to align rental assistance levels for HASA clients with the recent changes for our CityFEHPS program, we will be providing rental assistance grants to HASA clients in private-market apartments up to the NYCHA Section 8 payment standard. Over 55% of HASA (HIV/AIDS Services Administration) clients reside in independent, private-market apartments. These maximum rent levels can be found on the DSS website on the CityFHEPS page at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hra/downloads/pdf/cityfheps-documents/DSS-8r-E.pdf.
New York State Homeowners Assistance Fund
New York State has launched the Homeowners Assistance Fund to provide up to $539 million to help eligible homeowners prevent mortgage delinquency, default, foreclosure, and displacement. Applications will be accepted beginning Monday, January 3, 2022.
Designed and administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the NYS Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF) will target low- to moderate-income homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, property taxes, water or sewer bills, as well as owners of cooperative or condo units behind on maintenance fees, and manufactured homeowners behind on chattel loans or retail installment contracts.
Eligible applicants may receive financial assistance to catch up on missed housing payments, to reduce mortgage debt to make monthly mortgage payments more affordable, and for homeowners who are unemployed, assistance with up to six months of future housing payments.
Eligible applicants must have household incomes at or below 100 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and must be at least 30 days delinquent on monthly housing payments for their primary residence. Awards will be capped at $50,000 per household. Assistance will be structured as a five-year, non-interest, non-amortizing forgivable loan. If the homeowner remains in the home for a period of five years, the loan will be fully forgiven.
NYC Small Business Resilience Grant
On December 8th, NYC announced the $100 million NYC Small Business Resilience Grant program to provide immediate funding to small businesses in the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food sectors and in low-to moderate-income (LMI) communities to help them recover from the pandemic.
Small businesses must be in the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food sectors or located in an LMI neighborhood as defined by census tract data. Eligible businesses can apply to receive a $10,000 grant. The grant can be used for payroll and benefits, mortgage, rent, utilities, and other operating costs.
Businesses which would like to apply for the grant must:
- Have been in operation before October 1, 2019
- Demonstrate revenue loss between 2019 and 2020
- Not have received a federal grant from the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant program or the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
Businesses can learn more about the NYC Small Business Resilience Grant at covidresilience.nyc. Grant applications opened on December 8, 2021.
NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave
The NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law went into effect on January 1, 2021 and has since been expanded. Under New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law), covered employees have the right to use safe and sick leave for the care and treatment of themselves or a family member, to seek legal and social services assistance, and more.
Amendments to NYC’s Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law include:
- Employers with 100 or more employees in New York State must provide up to 56 hours of paid leave.
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Employers with four or fewer employees in New York State that have a net income of $1 million or more must now provide PAID leave despite their size.
- Employers must provide domestic workers with 40 hours of paid safe and sick leave.
- Employers must allow employees to use safe and sick leave as it is accrued, with no waiting period for new hires.
- Employers can require documentation when employees use more than three workdays in a row for safe and sick leave; and employers must reimburse employees for any fees paid for the required documentation.
- Employers must inform employees of their accrued, used, and total leave balances on a document issued each pay period (e.g., paystub) or through an employee-accessible electronic system.
Employers and employees can visit nyc.gov/workers or call 311 for more information about the NYC Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, including the required Notice of Employee of Rights, which is available in 26 languages, one-page overviews for employers and employees, and the complaint form.
Additional information:
Child Support – Family Court
The Family Court is open for child support matters and is accepting establishment, modification and enforcement petitions. To receive the latest information, please go to
Those who were unable to file a petition during the pandemic should inform the support magistrate.
NYC Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE) - Neighborhood Coalition Initiative
The City is investing $1.3M to support recovery in the 33 neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19. Partners in this citywide Neighborhood Coalition initiative are the NYC Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE), the Civic Engagement Commission, and the Young Men’s Initiative.
Residents living, working, or going to school in one of these communities are invited to vote on how to spend the $40,000 of public funds allocated to each of these neighborhoods. These investments will support communities and contribute to a more fair recovery. The ballot items include projects focused on priority areas identified by residents in each community, including mental health, reducing gun violence, youth programming, and hunger.
The voting process is open through January 17, 2022. The City is asking community partners for help in publicizing the open voting in these communities. A toolkit with multilingual social media graphics and outreach materials may be found here.
Open Streets and Public Space Programming Applications
The NYC Deptment of Transportation is now accepting applications for new and returning Open Streets (app closes 4/28/22) and for Public Space Programming, which are free arts, culture, fitness, or educational experiences (app closes 1/28/22).
Public High School and Middle School Applications
- Middle school applications will open the week of 1/10 and close the week of 2/28.
- High school applications will open the week of 1/24 and close the week of 2/28.
- Offers will be sent in May.
- Middle schools won’t be allowed to use academic screens, but high schools can. The only screening criteria will be first semester grades from this school year and a work sample (no attendance or state test scores). The screening process will also be managed centrally, rather than by individual schools.
- High schools will be allowed to use borough and zone geographic priorities.
Kindergarten Application – Now Open
The kindergarten application for New York City families is now open. Those who live in New York City and have a child born in 2017 need to apply by January 18, 2022.
Applicants need to complete and submit the kindergarten application in one of three ways by the January 19, 2022 deadline:
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Online with MySchools.nyc—This is the recommended process. Parents can use MySchools to search for elementary schools, apply to kindergarten, and receive the child’s school placement offer. Parents can use video tutorials on how to create a MySchools account and how to apply.
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By phone at 718-935-2009, Monday-Friday between 8am and 6pm.
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By email or in person at a Family Welcome Center. Learn how at schools.nyc.gov/FWC.
Parents can list up to 12 school choices on their child’s application. Please note that kindergarten admission is not first come, first served: there is no advantage to applying early, and all applications received by the deadline are treated equally.
HHS and HUD announce new Housing and Services Resource Center
The Housing and Services Resource Center will implement a federally coordinated approach to providing resources, program guidance, training, and technical assistance to public housing authorities and housing providers; state Medicaid, disability, aging and behavioral health agencies; the aging and disability networks; homeless services organizations and networks; health care systems and providers; and tribal organizations.
The Housing and Services Resource Center also aims to facilitate state and local partnerships between housing and service systems and assist communities in leveraging new housing and service resources available through the American Rescue Plan and, when it passes, through the Build Back Better Act. View the release on HHS.gov.
Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health - Request Mental Health Guides
Last week, the New York City Council voted to amend the City Charter to establish the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health as a permanent office. Additionally, in collaboration with NYC Health + Hospitals and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health published “How to help someone who needs mental healthcare” to walk individuals through options for care and support at all levels of need.
Nearly 40,000 guides have been distributed to City agencies and community-based organizations. If you'd like to request printed guides for your community-based sites, please reach out to press@mentalhealth.nyc.gov. Explore the guide.
NYC Civic Impact Funding
Free in NYC: YouTube Video for NYC Seniors and People Living with a Disability
HRA’s YouTube channel now features the first Free in NYC video for New York City residents who are age 65 and older or have disabilities. This new video provides important information about free enrollment assistance that helps New Yorkers apply for Medicaid and the Medicare Savings Program. The assistance is provided by the New York City Facilitated Enrollment Program for the Aged, Disabled and Blind program and is funded by the New York State Department of Health.
The video, “Free help to Enroll in Medicaid for Seniors and People with Disabilities”, is the first in a series of explainer videos created by HRA’s Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access to help NYC seniors and people with disabilities learn more about Medicaid and the Medicare Savings Program, and how to access these programs.
You can view the video here! Please share the video with clients and partners to help us increase awareness of this free program.
Community-wide Conference Call
We appreciate your continued participation on our weekly briefing calls and your ongoing work to help make sure that the critical information and details about changes we are making in response to the pandemic are being communicated to our clients. Your active engagement is appreciated, and your questions and suggestions help us better understand the needs of those we serve and respond accordingly.
The information contained in this communication is a synopsis of what was shared as well as new developments.
Each week, we will provide all of the information included in each of our prior communications on our website on the COVID-19 Community Updates page. If you would like to reference a specific prior communication, links to each of the prior communications can be found on the community updates page.
As a reminder, we have a standing informational call which is usually held on Tuesdays at 4:00PM. We will be holding our final call of the year on December 21, 2021. These weekly calls and the follow up weekly updates over these past 20+ months have been an important way to communicate rapidly changing information widely and efficiently during this critical time. It has been an honor to lead this essential dialogue on a weekly basis. Starting before the pandemic and continuing to this point, together we have made substantial progress from where we began in 2014 – and at the same time, we know that there is much more work to be done for clients.
In the event that the date or time of the weekly call needs to change due to extenuating circumstances, a notification is sent out from DSSoutreach@dss.nyc.gov, in addition to an updated Zoom invitation to those who have signed up to join the calls. To be added to this list, please reach out to DSSoutreach@dss.nyc.gov.
Please note that there are several hundred participants on these weekly calls, and as a result they may start a few minutes late to allow as many people to join as possible and hear all the information. In addition, the large number of participants does not allow us to have individual conversations efficiently, which is why we respond to individual inquiries through the chat box. If you have additional questions after the call, please reach out to DSSoutreach@dss.nyc.gov or the appropriate contact area listed on our COVID 19 Community Updates page.
CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is available during these calls as an accommodation for individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Please contact oria@dss.nyc.gov at least four hours prior to the call to enable this service.
As always, thank you for your continued partnership in serving New Yorkers in need, particularly now when our clients need us more than ever. If you have any questions or concerns about the changes we have made and are continuing to develop to address the COVID pandemic, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Office of Advocacy and Outreach at DSSoutreach@dss.nyc.gov.
Sincerely,
Steven Banks
DSS Commissioner
New York City Department of Social Services
