On Thursday, after considerable drama and delay, the New York State Senate passed most of the budget approved Wednesday by the Assembly.  Despite a deficit of over $17 billion, negotiations between the Legislature and Governor Paterson nevertheless restored and preserved service funding for supportive housing, homelessness prevention, and other crucial programs and supports for vulnerable New Yorkers.  The product of months of intense negotiations and activism, the budget is expected to be signed by Governor Paterson by the end of this week.  

The $131.8 billion budget raises taxes on state residents earning more than $300,000 annually, cuts hospital and healthcare costs, reforms the worst abuses of the Empowerment Zone program, and slows the growth in education spending. Combined with federal stimulus spending, these cuts and tax increases allowed the State to preserve and expand the safety net for poor New Yorkers.  Notably, the budget provides the first increase in the basic welfare grant in over a decade, while restoring the worst of the cuts proposed in the Executive Budget.

As a result of energetic advocacy by Network staff, members and allies, the enacted budget will restore all of the Network's budget priorities, including:

A complete restoration of proposed cuts to SRO Support Services funding that will fund all existing supportive housing units, as well as new units opening in SFY09-10.  The Executive Budget proposed an 18% cut to existing units and did not fund any new units.  The budget restored $4.4 million of this critical funding for a total of $20.48 million, enough to preserve full funding to all 18,484 existing units and as many as 1,500 units opening this year.

Full service funding for all NY/NY III supportive housing units for youth aging out of foster care, including 100 scattered-site units, and 105 units in one existing, and three new, residences - a restoration of approximately $1 million.  

Full funding for all NY/NY III units for chronically homeless people with HIV/AIDS, including 400 scattered-site units and 121 units in six residences that have recently opened or will soon open, a restoration of $1.3 million, to a total of $5.8 million.

Restoration of key homelessness prevention funds, including $3.685 million for the Homelessness Intervention Program (HIP) and $5.719 million for Homelessness Prevention Programs.  As a result, providers will continue to operate and in some cases expand their efforts to keep thousands of families in their homes.

The Network worked particularly hard to restore SRO Support Services funding to $20.487 million, a substantial increase over the executive proposal to cut the program back to $16 million. Donna DeMaria, Executive Director of the Albany supportive housing provider Homeless Action Committee (HAC), expressed gratitude that HAC's core service funding had avoided a reduction:

"The Homeless Action Committee is ecstatic to learn that all funds have been restored to the SRO Support Services program," said DeMaria. "We are relieved that our program won't be forced to close, which would have sent many chronically homeless individuals back out on the streets.  The earlier budget proposal would have forced us to close or make severe budget cuts that could have decimated our program."

There are many legislators to thank for this critical outcome: Assemblyman Keith Wright, Chair of the Social Services Committee, led the charge to bring program funding to $19.6 million, and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith fought to add the final $800,000 to fully restore this essential program.  The Network extends special thanks to Senators Daniel Squadron and Velmanette Montgomery, who pressed hard for this program as co-chairs of the Senate Social Services Committee.

The AIDS Institute and Office of Children and Family Services' New York/New York III programs both secured full funding restorations, avoiding the dangerous precedent of withdrawing state funds for promised services in supportive housing.  Senators Tom Duane and Velmanette Montgomery championed this issue along with Assembly members Naomi Rivera, William Scarborough and Richard Gottfried. Leadership from the state agencies that are signatories to the NY/NY III Agreement also played a significant and much appreciated role.  Senator Liz Krueger, vice-chair of the Finance Committee, helped restore all the cuts, while Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh also contributed key advocacy.

Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter CEO Anne Teicher underscored the value of the State's investment in services for youth aging out of foster care, a population served by her organization's newly-opened Louis Nine Residence in the Bronx.
 
"I'm very happy that our representatives in Albany recognized the importance of providing the support and stability that youth need in order to transition from foster care to a healthy, independent adult life," said Teicher. "Supportive housing for youth is an investment that pays dividends, both in the contributions of well-developed adults to society and in the future costs avoided by addressing young adults' needs early on."  

Homelessness prevention advocates and service providers were also gratified to see funding restored to $3.685 million for Homelessness Intervention Program (HIP) and $5.719 million for Homelessness Prevention Programs, through the advocacy of Assembly members Keith Wright, Aurelia Greene and others.

Assembly and Senate Housing Chairs Vito Lopez and Pedro Espada, Jr. both worked to ensure that service funds for supportive housing were restored, and made great efforts to increase capital funding for affordable housing development.  While these efforts were unable to secure increases in capital programs like DHCR's Housing Trust Fund and OTDA's Homeless Housing Assistance Program, they ensured that the programs were not cut further. The Network was pleased that standard funding levels were maintained in the face of a large deficit.

Many supportive housing providers stood to lose multiple funding sources to cuts.  Common Ground Communities (CGC) had two residences opening this year that depended on SRO Support Services and both NY/NY III programs that were restored.

"Today's budget announcement represents a substantial victory for champions of supportive housing," said CGC Executive Director Tim Marx.  "It also exemplifies the important and effective role that SHNNY plays on a daily basis in advocacy of organizations like Common Ground. Their frank communication and tireless leadership have helped to preserve funding streams aimed at serving chronically street homeless individuals, those with HIV-AIDS, and young people aging out of foster care."

The Network thanks its advocacy partners, including the Human Services Council, Homeless Services United, the Association for Community Living and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, as well as New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness and the One New York Campaign.  Cooperation among these groups proved an effective and successful strategy.

In addition, it is important to acknowledge the many figures within the administration who understood the serious consequences of the proposed cuts and worked with the Legislature to find alternative funding sources to avert these cuts and preserve essential services.  Without their efforts, none of these successes would have been possible.

Other programs and funding important to supportive housing providers and residents that were restored included cuts to the State SSI Supplement and the Personal Needs Allowance to OASAS-clients in supportive living settings, as well as an increase in the basic welfare grant.  SHFYA and SHIP were both funded at $5 million apiece, while the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation contracts were restored at $86,000 to $89,000 a year. In addition, a host of employment opportunities were made possible by a major infusion of TANF dollars that resulted from OTDA's efforts to increase food stamp usage.

Network Executive Director Ted Houghton concluded, "All of us who dedicate our lives to helping homeless people and building strong communities appreciate the leadership shown by Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver and Senate Majority Leader Smith.  In the most challenging budget year in living memory, they reaffirmed their commitment to supportive housing and programs that prevent homelessness before it happens.  By protecting permanent, housing-based solutions like these in the face of enormous fiscal pressures, they showed courage and vision."