As much of the country grapples with an affordable housing shortage, host-home and home sharing programs—which typically pair people who have a room to spare with those in need of a place to live—are a growing intervention. Supporters say the arrangement can be especially helpful in serving vulnerable populations, like homeless LGBTQIA+ youth or those on fixed-incomes.
“For mixed-status households, where at least one member of the family is not a U.S. citizen or eligible immigrant, it can be difficult—if not impossible—to access sufficient housing support.”
Whitford, who joined City Limits as Senior Housing Reporter in February, will continue to report for the news site’s core housing beat and will serve as editor for its series on NYCHA, launched earlier this year to provide in-depth coverage of the nation’s largest public housing system.
City Limits spoke with several of the immigrants being transferred from the Holiday Inn Manhattan downtown to the new, large congregate shelter on Randall’s Island, a group that included a pregnant woman and asylum seekers on crutches, among others.
Clean mattresses, sheets and pillows. Towels, soap and toilet paper. These are among the shelter requirements New York State has agreed to waive in instances where no alternative is available—specifically for adults in NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters—according to a letter obtained by City Limits.
“The Hope Center for College Community and Justice’s 2019 CUNY #RealCollege Survey found that 55 percent of students worry about where they will live, and 14 percent, or about 34,000 students, are unhoused.”
An inaugural city report groups together shelter headcounts from five municipal systems, revealing a truer—and larger—picture of the homelessness crisis than the often-cited Department of Homeless Services count.
Steve Banks, who served as social services commissioner under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, is returning to a familiar posture—opposing City Hall in litigation over the city’s unique shelter rights for the homeless, which Mayor Eric Adams has sought to weaken in recent months.
The mayor has argued that the bills will be too costly, and that an expanded pool will make it harder for existing voucher holders in a city with too few low-cost apartments. But the Council has pushed back consistently, disputing the mayor’s cost estimate and accusing him of shortsightedness.
More than 500 new households can access city-funded rental vouchers after the elimination last month of the so-called “90-day rule” for applicants, Mayor Adams said Tuesday. The update came weeks after he vetoed a package of legislation, passed by the City Council in May, which would have expanded CityFHEPS eligibility to even more households.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
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