New York, NY – In response to Mayor Eric Adams’ announcing today that New York City plans to expand eligibility to the CityFHEPS housing voucher program, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and New Destiny Housing issued the following statement on behalf of the Family Homelessness Coalition:

“We applaud Mayor Adams for taking major steps to help New York City families more quickly and easily access stable, affordable housing. We commend the Mayor for committing to reform CityFHEPS, including by reducing the hours individuals are required to work to qualify for vouchers and increasing staffing at both the City’s Department of Social Services and Human Resources Administration. These necessary changes will allow the city to accelerate the voucher processing time, increase placements, and ensure more working families can stay in their homes and out of shelter.

“While we are pleased by the Mayor’s announcement, we urge the Administration to build on these critical reforms and eliminate the 90-day eligibility rule for housing vouchers, as well as expanding eligibility to undocumented New Yorkers. Countless families are needlessly forced to wait in shelter for at least 90 days before they can even apply for CityFEHPS. Last fiscal year, families with children on average spent 17 months in shelter. It is imperative that the Administration abolish this ’90-day rule’ and go farther to expand eligibility to help thousands of families with children secure housing or keep a roof over their heads.

“We look forward to working with Mayor Adams and his administration to implement these changes and to ensuring that every New York City family has access to the stable, affordable housing they deserve.”

This statement is from the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and New Destiny Housing on behalf of the Family Homelessness Coalition.

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ABOUT

The Family Homelessness Coalition (FHC) is composed of 18 organizations representing service and housing providers and children’s advocacy organizations. FHC is united by the goal of launching a  coordinated, collaborative, multi-agency effort focused on preventing family homelessness, improving the well-being of children and families in shelters, and supporting the long-term stability of families with children who leave shelters.