The Network
Contact Us/Staff
Who We Are
The Supportive Housing Network of New York represents over 150 nonprofit organizations that develop and operate supportive housing across the state. With offices in New York City and Albany, the Network is the only supportive housing membership organization in New York State. It is the voice of the provider community that has created by far the largest, best-managed and most innovative supportive housing stock in the nation.
Established in 1988, the Network’s membership continues to expand alongside the rapid growth of supportive housing. It now includes almost every supportive housing provider in the state, as well as over 60 affiliate and corporate partners. Thanks in part to the Network’s efforts to promote the supportive housing model, there are now* over 37,500 units of supportive housing in New York state alone, with 12,000 more units in the development pipeline.
(Dec. 2007)
What We Do
The Network harnesses the power and energy of its members to pursue four goals:
- Encourage and accelerate the creation of an adequate supply of supportive housing
- Enhance public understanding and support for supportive housing
- Maintain the effectiveness of the supportive housing model
- Ensure there are sufficient resources for developing, operating and providing services in supportive housing
To achieve these objectives, the Network provides public education, research and policy analysis, advocacy, training and technical assistance to the supportive housing community, government and the public at large.
Public Education:
The Network is the voice of New York’s supportive housing provider community. Network staff educates the general public about supportive housing and its successes through the placement and shaping of media coverage that features our providers and tenants. More target activities focus on educating elected official, community residents and other opinion leaders on the value of supportive housing to tenants, public health systems and the communities in which residences are sited
Research and Policy Analysis:
The Network is one of the nation’s preeminent sources for analysis of supportive housing’s effect on formerly homeless tenants and the communities in which they reside. The Network’s policy staff has a collective 50-year’s worth of experience in the field of affordable/supportive housing and services. The Network has presented and published dozens of reports, manuals and briefing papers evaluating program design and performance, identifying and disseminating best practices, and providing technical assistance to supportive housing providers and their partners.
Advocacy:
The Network advocacy staff communicates regularly and works closely with its government partners. Advocacy efforts focus on expanding access to supportive housing, and ensuring that supportive housing is well-managed and adequately funded. Advocacy staff also leads grassroots efforts that increase tenants’ and other community partners’ involvement.
Training and Technical Assistance:
The Network offers a broad variety of trainings, workshops and forums to the supportive housing community, as well as an annual conference attended by over 700 people. The Network’s training activities leverage the expertise of our members, affiliates and government partners in order to maintain and improve supportive housing’s effectiveness. Recent workshops and forms have addressed such issues as housing people with histories of incarceration managing nonprofit/private development partnerships, developing “green” buildings, and employing harm reduction strategies in supportive housing.
