December 18, 2023

The Honorable Kathy Hochul

Governor of New York State

State Capitol Building

Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Hochul,

Close to four decades ago, New York pioneered a new approach to meeting the needs of people struggling with homelessness and other barriers to stability: providing case management inside housing to connect tenants to community-based services like mental health counseling, alcohol and substance use treatment, job training, childcare, and more. The result was the nation-leading New York State Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP). Today, with essentially the same budget available since 1987, NYSSHP partially funds services to more than 20,000 households across the state. It is the sole funding source for 9,000 households in supportive housing.  

In 2016, the state made an historic commitment to fund 20,000 more much-needed units of supportive housing over a 15-year period and created a new statewide program to accomplish this ambitious goal: The Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI). ESSHI embedded important lessons learned during the evolution of supportive housing in New York, allocating up to $25,000 per unit to cover both social services and rental assistance.

Unfortunately, NYSSHP has been left behind. NYSSHP provides annual service funding of just $2,736 for individuals and $3,672 for families, with no dedicated rental assistance for the majority of tenants.  As a result of this chronic and severe funding disparity, NYSSHP is in trouble, with 9,000 households statewide that rely solely on funding from this program in imminent jeopardy of returning to homelessness.

Thankfully, there is a simple solution: Convert the 9,000 at-risk NYSSHP units to ESSHI through a five-year, phased-in approach that will eventually create fiscal parity among supportive housing units across New York. This proposal would modernize an antiquated funding model, delivering results for thousands of tenants and overstretched staff.

At a time when the state faces crises on multiple fronts – from mental health and proliferation of more addictive and deadly drugs to an influx of migrants straining the shelter and social services systems – the loss of even a single supportive housing unit would be a significant setback. Each new ESSHI unit is a net zero benefit to the State if a NYSSHP unit is lost.

The conversion of NYSSHP to ESSHI would cost an additional $32 million in FY 2024-25 – an incredibly small portion of the multibillion-dollar annual state budget that will more than pay for itself over time by avoiding the high cost of adding to New York’s homelessness population.

Systemic underfunding of NYSSHP has put vulnerable individuals and families – disproportionately Black people and people of color who have suffered from trauma, survived domestic violence, served in our military, returned from incarceration, and struggle with complex mental health challenges and the often deadly consequences caused by the increase of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply – at risk. It also has exacerbated a chronic staffing shortage, as supportive housing programs are unable to compete with higher wages available at big box stores and fast-food restaurants. Low wages and related staffing issues have left one NYSSHP-funded residence for survivors of domestic violence with a single case manager for 56 adults and children.

In addition, because of their negative cash flow, NYSSHP-funded programs are unable to access the Supportive Housing Preservation capital made available from HCR, which is necessary to make upgrades and repairs to their buildings – many of which are decades, if not centuries, old. Both tenants and staff pay the price of leaky roofs, faulty elevators, and outdated facilities that are not handicapped accessible.

We recognize and appreciate your commitment to addressing the state’s affordable housing crisis, but we have been disappointed that the supportive housing system – a critical element in New York’s housing ecosystem – has been thus far left out of the discussion. We implore you to consider including our proposal for bringing NYSSHP out of the dark ages in the 2024-25 state budget and bringing funding equity to the supportive housing system, preserving essential programs and units statewide.

We stand ready to serve as a resource and to join you in advocating for this much needed and reasonable shift that will make a significant difference in the lives of thousands of New Yorkers.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,