On December 14, 2021, Rebecca Charles, CCC Policy and Advocacy Associate, testified before the New York State Assembly Committee on Social Services to address the current state of family homelessness in New York.

Rebecca testified that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already-existing family homelessness crisis in New York, disproportionately impacting families headed by Black and Latina mothers. Pulling from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, Rebecca cited that during the initial months of the pandemic, more than 40% of renter households with children in the New York Metropolitan Area reported ‘slight’ or ‘no’ confidence meeting their monthly rental payments. Furthermore, even with the state eviction moratorium in place, more than 75,000 tenants in New York City alone are at risk of eviction come January when the moratorium is lifted.

To address this crisis, CCC urged the State to do the following:

• Fund the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) in the FY’23 budget
• Reopen the portals for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to help protect tenants from eviction