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Dear John,
As New Yorkers, we know how expensive housing is in our state. Living in New York is becoming less affordable every day—half of NYC households can’t afford rent anymore. It’s not just NYC facing this problem; small towns outside the city and in places like the Hudson Valley are also experiencing a lack of affordable housing. In fact, homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression.
As rent continues to rise, thousands of New Yorkers face the risk of losing their homes - if they haven’t already. Currently, more than 150,000 New Yorkers are without a home and more than 175,000 households are at risk of eviction.
It’s long past time New York tackles our affordability crisis and implements the Housing Access Voucher Program!
What is The Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP)?
The NYS Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) creates a flexible, statewide Section 8-like voucher to be used by people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. These vouchers would help low-income or no income New Yorkers regardless of immigration status or felony convictions achieve stability and retain permanent housing by subsidizing their rent. Tenants would contribute 30% of their income toward rent, with the rest covered by subsidies.
Why Do We Need It?
Housing insecurity, eviction, and homelessness cause devastating financial, health, and educational impacts. Long-term rent subsidies, like those offered by HAVP, are proven to reduce homelessness, increase housing stability, and promote beneficial outcomes for family well-being.
New York’s shelter system has helped keep many vulnerable people out of the streets for decades, but they are overburdened and underfunded, with no real path to permanent housing for anyone. Thousands of new families have joined our city in the past year, but they, like many other long-time New Yorkers, cannot find stable housing without the support of rental assistance as rent prices continue to hike.
HAVP can combat the homelessness crisis, providing up to 20,000 vouchers and helping as many as 50,000 New Yorkers avoid the trauma of homelessness. It will curb evictions, give homeless people a path to a roof over their head, and could be bundled to subsidize affordable housing construction. Investing in greater housing stability will also yield cost savings of at least $67 million from decreased spending on shelter, hospital stays, prison, housing court, and more.
How Can I Join the Fight?
You can read more about HAVP here, as well as call your representative so they know you support the Housing Access Voucher Program!
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