During the most recent fiscal year, just 16 percent of New Yorkers approved by the city for supportive housing were actually placed with an apartment. More than half of the 7,426 eligible applicants during that time were never even referred for an interview, according to data recently published by the city’s Department of Social Services (DSS).
At a virtual rally on Sunday, parents, young people and advocates in the city and across the state shared stories about the impact of the pandemic and renewed calls for elected officials to invest more in behavioral health programs and services for children and teens, which experts say have been underfunded for years and are now at a breaking point, with increased demand spurred by the coronavirus crisis.
“As of 2016, the city had over 1,131 (more or less) parcels of property at its disposal. Instead of using executive orders on projects that benefit a small group of people, the mayor has the power to relinquish parcels of land and abandoned property to address homelessness.”
“Shelters are not a stand-alone solution and just because we remove homeless people from our subways and streets doesn’t mean they have found a home.”
“We need a continuum of care that meets the individual needs of homeless New Yorkers where they are, whether it’s a single mother, an out-of-work man, someone exiting incarceration with nowhere to go, a person living with schizophrenia or battling addiction, and everyone in between.”
Postgraduate Center for Mental Health has $130 million in two cash reserves and steady funding from the state, but conditions inside the apartments it rents for low-income tenants continue to deteriorate. The organization says it is forced to rent substandard units because state contracts are too low to cover better housing.
“Scientific research very clearly demonstrates that solitary confinement is torture. It also shows that it is counterproductive in achieving its goals because it often increases an inmate’s violent behavior.”
“Though society is scared and grieving, we cannot allow the knee jerk reaction to the devastating mass shooting in Uvalde to ignore the systemic, policy, and evidence-based realities and root causes of gun violence.”
The reality is that many older adults have already survived trauma—and those experiences carry so much wisdom, perspective, and resilience to share as a result. Investments to increase access to mental health support for seniors would go a long way.
“Deeply affordable housing with supportive services for this population has a proven track record of success and hits all the Adams administration’s goals of efficiency, smart government, addressing problems at their root, and getting things done.”
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