“As rents steadily rose and low-income wages stagnated, chronically poor families like Dasani’s found themselves stuck in a shelter system with fewer exits” – Andrea Elliott, “Invisible Child: Dasani’s Homeless Life” The New York Times, 12/19/13

Every night in New York City more than 60,000 people, including over 23,000 children, go to sleep homeless. The number of New Yorkers living in shelters has risen by 75% since 2002 while wealth has concentrated disproportionately, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.

On July 9th, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Greater NYC for Change hosted a panel discussion on homelessness. The focus what has changed in the six months since Elliott’s inspiring series brought Dasani and thousands of children like her into focus. Panelists addressed the urgency of the situation, Mayor de Blasio’s affordable housing plan, and ways that average citizens can fight back against the deepening crisis of homelessness. The moderator was Ben Max of Gotham Gazette, and our panelists were James Dill, Executive Director of Housing & Services, Inc., Lisa Lombardi, Deputy Executive Director of Urban Pathways, and Heidi Schmidt, Department of Homeless Services‘ (DHS) Office of Government and Special Events Coordinator. Our co-sponsors were Village Independent Democrats (VID), Manhattan Young Democrats, Democracy for NYC, and Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing.

Following the panel, the assembled broke out into groups, and discussed actions to take. Group shared ideas and a resources list was developed:

Breakout Groups Actions
1. More transparency from the administration about city-owned property. Residential buildings should be listed and counted, then made available for housing the homeless (Refer to HPD)

2. Tax incentives/requirements for developers to include housing for homeless individuals. (Refer to HPD Low Income Housing Tax Credits)

3. Require property owners with vacant buildings make them available for homeless housing units. 
 
4. Push for stronger rent regulations. Questions: Could we pay people directly to rent their own apartments for less? How do we educate people about what homelessness really looks like? Which programs work and how can we replicate? (Refer to DHS Temporary Housing Assistance)

5. Re: getting people legal help for housing court, the New York County Lawyers’ Association has a pro-bono program where attorneys give free advice to walk-ins (see Resources).
 
6. Taxing vacant lots/units. Identifying where system fails. Promote inter-agency collaboration.
 
7. Stronger workforce development with homeless, and children, with better coordination between agencies. Community outreach teams to homeless or create a number/office that people can call other than the police (see resources, 311). Provide better training to NYPD. 

8. Give community boards the right to petition for legal representation and immediate court dates for community members facing eviction or similar due to backlog in housing court scheduling. Raise awareness that eviction and resulting homelessness hurt communities as well as individuals and families.

Resources
Call 311 for outreach to homeless individuals.
Download the 311 app:
http://www1.nyc.gov/connect/applications.page
 
NYC DHS Homebase map of Homeless Prevention Network:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/downloads/pdf/homebase_map.pdf
 
Met Council on Housing Nonprofit tenant’s rights org. Resources for tenants, including legal: http://metcouncilonhousing.org/help_and_answers
Walk-in clinic: http://metcouncilonhousing.org/tenants_rights_walk_in_clinic
 
New York County Lawyer’s Association http://www.nycla.org/
 
CLARO NYC Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office provides limited legal advice to low-income New Yorkers being sued by debt collectors.
http://www.claronyc.org/claronyc/default.html
 
New Alternatives Outreach to LGBT homeless youth:
http://www.newalternativesnyc.org/
 
NYC Councilman (7, West Harlem) Mark Levine’s “Right to Counsel” Bill:
http://www.markdlevine.com/bill_number_int_214_2014
 
A Recent Post from Bronx Defenders on the proposed legislation:
http://www.bronxdefenders.org/the-bronx-defenders-joins-rally-to-demand-justice-in-housing-court/
 
NYC Nonprofit providers of supportive housing:
Housing and Services, Inc http://www.hsi-ny.org/
Urban Pathways http://www.urbanpathways.org/
 
Panelist Jim Dill of HSI-NY provided the following additional resources:
 
Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten Year Plan
An ambitious, weighty tome of principles and guidelines. The Mayor’s plan acknowledges that the current homelessness crisis is a subset of the affordable housing crisis. We all eagerly await further details. Specifics addressing homelessness begin in Ch 4, p 78:
www.nyc.gov/html/housing/assets/downloads/pdf/housing_plan.pdf
 
NYC Homeless/Permanent Supportive Housing Advocacy Groups:
Supportive Housing Network of New York www.shnny.org
United to End Homelessness NYC www.endhomelessnessnyc.org
Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing & Services www.nynycampaign.org

Two years ago, in the course of a month spent with Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park, Greater NYC for Change volunteers petitioned for the extension of a Millionaire’s Tax in Albany. We called on Governor Cuomo to promote fair taxes and work against income inequality, and to apply proceeds from the tax on wealthy residents toward the state’s underfunded schools. GNYCfC also carried a petition from our friends in anti-fracking groups calling for a statewide ban on fracking and greater investment in non-fossil fuels.

Today, those issues are front and center—in the city, the state, and the nation. We’re delighted the President will announce initiatives to reduce income inequality in his State of the Union Address this Tuesday night, and call for investment in universal pre-K programs and environmental measures. And we’re thrilled that United for Action, 350.org and others are hosting new collaborative events, starting this week, to promote alternatives to fossil fuels and investment in a sustainable future.

None of this can happen without YOUR activism–New York and the nation need you in a broad coalition for fairness and a sustainable future. So, join us! Here are three events you won’t want to miss:

Tuesday, January 28: State of the Union Watch Parties in Mahattan and Brooklyn Join DL21C, Living Liberally, GNYCfC, and others to watch the President’s annual address and the GOP rebuttal. Manhattan: Tavern 29, at 47 E 29th St. Doors open at 8:30 PM. Take the 6/R/N to 28th Street. Co-hosted by DL21C, New York Democratic Lawyers Council, and others. RSVP at DL21C. Brooklyn: Pacific Standard, 82 4th Avenue (near Atlantic/Pacific subway stop). Doors open at 8 PM. Hosted by Living Liberally. RSVP on Facebook.

Thursday, January 30: Tankers, Turbines, and Our Offshore Energy Future Come learn why New Yorkers should oppose a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) port off Jones Beach and support a proposal for a wind farm at the same site. Speakers include Sean Dixon of Clean Ocean Action, David Alicea of Sierra Club, and Al Appleton, former Commissioner of NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Manhattan: Rutgers Presbyterian Church, 236 West 73rd Street (near Broadway). 6:30 pm; doors open at 6 pm. Sponsored by United for Action, GNYCfC, and many other groups and elected officials. $10 suggested donation. RSVP on Facebook.

Wednesday, February 5: Fossil Free NYC—A Divestment Open House Join 350.org and fellow sponsors the Responsible Endowments Coalition, GreenFaith, New York Society for Ethical Culture, and NYC Grassroots Alliance for an open house and panel on fossil fuel divestment. Learn how NYC can adopt the procedures of cities around the globe in divestment, stop profiting off of destructive climate change, and become a leader in a sustainable energy future. Manhattan: New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th Street. 7 to 9 pm. Information and RVSP on Facebook.

During the rest of open enrollment, if you enroll between the 1st and 15th day of the month and pay your premium, your coverage will begin the first day of the next month. So if you enroll on February 10, 2014, your coverage begins March 1, 2014. Open enrollment ends March 31, 2014.

To enroll, go to www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov or call 855-355-5777. If you have a friend out of state, go to healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596.

We highly recommend going to office locations where there’s free in-person assistance to help you understand your options. You can call to set up an appointment with an insurance assistant or “navigator” here.

Note: Many places are booked toward the end of the month, so another option is to call 855-355-5777 and ask for enrollment help.

Trained experts can walk you through your options and help you learn if you qualify for financial assistance. It’s important to have last year’s tax returns, current employer information, and the names of any current doctors and hospitals on hand.

Last but not least, Community Health Advocates at 888-614-5400 can guide you through complex insurance questions should you need further help.

Join us December 9th to celebrate another wonderful year of progressive achievements in NYC! The health exchanges are up and New York City has a new class of leaders for 2014. It’s time to celebrate the year past and the new year to come!

Festivities will take place at the The Brooklyneer from 6:30-8:30pm and in the spirit of giving, we will be raising funds for the Food Bank for New York City. A suggested donation of $10 is appreciated.

If you have any questions feel free to email Aliya or RSVP on Facebook. See you there!

Greater NYC For Change Holiday Celebration

Monday, December 9th

6:30pm to 8:30pm
The Brooklyneer
220 W Houston Street (Between 6th and 7th Ave.)