The Network

Recent Accomplishments

New York State Policy and Advocacy

The Network successfully advocated for the following funding to be added to the NYS FY’10 budget:

$1.25 million in the NYS Office for Children and Family Services budget to fully fund all new units of NY/NY III housing for youth aging out of foster care
$1.3 million in the NYS Department of Health budget to fully fund all new units of NY/NY III housing chronically homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
$4.4 million in the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance budget to fully fund all existing SRO Support Service contracts across the state and provide new funding for residences opening this year.
$9.4 million in critical homeless prevention funding including Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP) and Homelessness Intervention program (HIP).

The Network also played an integral role in the Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s (DHCR’s) creation of the state’s first-ever supportive housing set-aside of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tripling supportive housing’s share to 20% of the total allocation.

New York City Policy and Advocacy

Since the start of 2009, the Network has successfully:

Gained commitments from the City Department of Buildings to identify and remedy issues that delay the opening of supportive housing residences.
Worked with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to establish a more efficient and cost-effective construction oversight process including creation of a cost proposal flowchart, a commitment to more transparent cost determinations, and a set time frame for change order approvals.

As co-chair of the NYC Coalition on the Continuum of Care, the Network has recently helped create a new governing structure for the coalition, opened up lines of communication with the local HUD office, and made recommendations for how the City should spend federal stimulus funding.

Federal Policy and Advocacy

Along with our national advocacy partners, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the Network played a vital role in:

Passing the HEARTH Act (Homeless and Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing), which substantially improved the McKinney-Vento Act, the primary source of federal funding for supportive housing.
Ensuring that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained $2.25 billion of gap financing for tax credit projects as well as a $1.5 billion investment in Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing.
Securing increases for supportive housing in the FY 2009 HUD and HHS budgets.

Public Education

Helped place twelve positive stories about supportive housing in the media.
Produced two short films targeted to community residents that demonstrate how supportive housing is a good neighbor.
Developed more than 30 discrete ‘tools’ for helping groups communicate the community benefits of supportive housing to the public at large.
Organized a bus tour of two family supportive housing residences with an address by OTDA Commissioner David Hansell for 40 government partners, members and funders.
Organized and conducted more than a half dozen tours of supportive housing residences for funders, government partners, community board members and elected officials.

Research

Initiated and collaborated on the largest and most rigorous study ever done on supportive housing’s impact on neighboring property values, New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy’s “The Impact of Supportive Housing on Surrounding Neighborhoods: Evidence from New York City” examining the impact of 123 residences developed in New York City over 18 years.
Released “Supportive Housing and Community Investment,” a report of findings from its survey of quality-of-life improvements that New York City supportive housing residences offer to their surrounding communities, including local jobs, meeting space, and engagement in community activities.
Developed a cost-benefit case study highlighting the reduction in a family’s use of expensive emergency services and the resulting cost savings from supportive housing.

In 2008, we produced an in-depth analysis of the 2008 DHCR unified funding round. Our analysis highlighted a drop in funding for projects serving mental health populations, resulting in the funding of two supportive residences for individuals with mental illness.

Trainings

In partnership with the Pratt Center and ANHD, facilitated “Managing Lean and Green”, a year long training program on developing and running energy efficient affordable housing.

Coordinated a five-part Asset Management series with Enterprise Community Partners followed by three-part series focusing on “Year 15”.
Hosted the country’s best-attended supportive housing conference with over 1,000 members of the supportive housing community in attendance.

Technical Assistance

Provided strategic technical assistance to more than 30 groups siting more than 2,200 supportive apartments in the five boroughs.
Provides assistance to five rural Continuum of Care (CoC) networks through a technical assistance grant from OTDA and various downstate CoCs via a contract with HUD.

The Network also developed a cost-savings analysis of family supportive housing, highlighting tax dollars saved through a case study examining a family’s use of emergency services while homelessness compared to the costs of supportive housing.

Public Education

The Network’s Good Neighbor Initiative is a comprehensive effort to build public support for siting new supportive housing residences in New York’s neighborhoods. In 2008, the Network:

Helped place twelve positive stories about supportive housing in the media.
Produced two short films targeted to community residents that demonstrate how supportive housing is a good neighbor.
Developed more than 30 discrete ”tools” for helping groups communicate the community benefits of supportive housing to the public at large.
Trained members in state-of-the-art techniques for gaining community support.

Provided strategic technical assistance to over 30 groups siting more than 2,200 supportive apartments in the five boroughs

Training and Technical Assistance

The Network hosts the country’s best-attended supportive housing conference. This year, over 1,000 members of the supportive housing community attended a day of presentations and workshops on the latest innovations in supportive housing. During the rest of the year, the Network offered over 40 trainings, forums, tours and other events promoting the best new thinking in housing individuals and families with disabilities. In addition, the Network:

Provided direct technical assistance to seven local Continuums of Care in New York State under contract with either the United States Department of Housing and Urban Renewal, or the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
Co-sponsored and participated in the first North American Homeless Housing Conference in Niagara Falls, New York.