By: Rhonda Jackson, advocacy fellow with the Family Homelessness Coalition.

New York City is just days away from a new law, Int. 146, going into effect to raise the value of CityFHEPS rental assistance vouchers to help address the city’s housing crisis, which is especially important for New York’s families and children facing eviction. Yet, a fatal flaw exists in the bill after the income ceiling for eligible New Yorkers was lowered in the final hours of FY22 budget negotiations.

As a result, thousands of New Yorkers like me who need the subsidy to avoid eviction will be left with the impossible choice of giving up our income or our home. For many of the children who experience homelessness, they will never fully recover from the life-altering trauma incurred from losing their home.