[NYAPRS Enews] REMINDER: Jan 7 Thunderclap to Urge Gov Cuomo to Commit to Creating More Supportive Housing

[Thomas Templeton]

NYAPRS Note: The Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing is organizing a Thunderclap - a social media flash mob - TOMORROW January 7, 2016, asking Governor Cuomo to create 35,000 additional supportive housing units statewide.
NYAPRS has voiced its support for this housing ask with the Governor's office, which will be included on our policy agenda for our 2016 Legislative Day on February 23. Please see below for more information on the Thunderclap and to participate.
The Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing
"Governor Cuomo -We need a NY/NY4 Agreement NOW: 35,000 new supportive housing units statewide! #NY4SupportiveHousing http://thndr.me/1UCmDH"


One out of every seven homeless people in the United States lives in New York.  Statewide, there are roughly 67,000 men, women and children staying in shelters at any given time<https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/reportmanagement/published/CoC_PopSub_State_NY_2014.pdf>.  In New York City (NYC) alone, nearly 58,000 people, including nearly 24,000 children, sleep in a homeless shelter<http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/the-catastrophe-of-homelessness/facts-about-homelessness/> each night. An additional 7,700 people<https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/reportmanagement/published/CoC_PopSub_State_NY_2014.pdf> stay in a shelter outside NYC. Thousands of others sleep on the streets or in abandoned buildings and makeshift campsites, while thousands more exit foster care, hospitals and other institutions each year without a home.

Homelessness in New York has nearly doubled in the last decade. New York State (NYS) must end this crisis and invest in the most cost-effective strategy proven to solve homelessness for those with the greatest needs: supportive housing, which pairs affordable housing with on-site supportive services.  We call on Governor Cuomo to work with NYC and the other localities with large and growing homeless populations across NYS to create 35,000 units of supportive housing over the next ten years: 30,000 units in NYC and 5,000 units outside NYC.

Supportive housing is by far the most successful way to end homelessness for individuals and families living with disabilities and other challenges.  However, there is not nearly enough supply to meet the record need, and the current City-State supportive housing production initiative, the New York/New York III Agreement (NY/NY III),<http://shnny.org/budget-policy/nyc/ny-ny/ny-ny-iii/> is expiring.

Unfortunately, four out of every five people found eligible for supportive housing in NYC have had to stay in shelter or on the street because there are too few supportive housing units available to meet the current need.  Outside of NYC, where there is no NY/NY program, there are even fewer resources.

Supportive Housing Solves Homelessness, Improves Neighborhoods, and Saves Tax Dollars

Sign up for the Thunderclap on January 7 HERE: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/35913-the-campaign-4-ny-ny-housing




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