OPINION: Affordable housing is more than lower rents

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo is shown before giving the State of the State address at the Empire State Plaza and Convention Center in Albany, NY. (Jan. 8, 2014) Photo Credit: Getty/Andrew Burton

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s support for affordable housing is critical to New York City’s future, but not just because it would mean stable rents and mortgages for low- and moderate-income families.

It is also a critical tool to help the homeless get back on their feet and to save the lives of domestic violence survivors and their families in need of long-term stable housing.

Survivors of domestic violence are especially vulnerable. They account for nearly one-third of homeless families in the city’s family shelter system. And 80 percent of survivors of domestic violence who leave emergency shelters have no safe place to go. In fact, many of them risk staying with abusive partners over fear of becoming homeless if they leave.

De Blasio must make policy changes to give domestic violence victims equal access to housing resources, and also should create new permanent housing for families at risk of homelessness.

The city should make the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Section 8 and homeless set-aside units available to victims of domestic violence using the HRA shelter system, and revise the criteria to gain access to New York City Housing Authority’s Domestic Violence priority housing by adding a risk assessment tool and accepting more sources of documentation.

Less than one-third of survivors in domestic violence emergency shelters meet the current criteria, which relies heavily on police reports and other criminal justice documentation. Finally, the application process for HPD and NYCHA housing should be streamlined to ensure survivors have a safe place to stay before they leave shelter.

De Blasio’s affordable housing plan also must include ways to increase access to housing by investing in new affordable housing units for very low-income households. He also should create a new local rent subsidy — in partnership with the state — to provide a bridge for families out of homelessness and into permanent housing.

These changes will save the city millions, provide relief to low-income families, help the homeless, and enable survivors of domestic violence to escape their abusers before it’s too late.

Shola Olatoye is vice president and New York market leader of Enterprise Community Partners Inc., a Columbia, Md.-based non-profit. Carol Corden is executive director of New Destiny Housing Corp., a non-profit in New York City.