Earlier this week, the State Senate Committee on Social Services passed a bill to establish a statewide rent supplement program for New Yorkers in danger of becoming homeless, sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Upper East Side, Lenox Hill).
The bill, passed on Mar. 5, creates the Home Stability Support (HSS) program, which will provide monetary aid to New York tenants facing eviction or homelessness – provided that they qualify for public assistance benefits. Over the course of five years, HSS will be phased in and replace all existing rent supplement programs.
In ten years, the HSS program can reduce the city’s homeless shelter population by 80 percent among families with children and 40 percent among single adults, according to an estimate by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D).
“Homelessness in New York is both a humanitarian crisis and an ongoing stress on local budgets and communities,” said Liz Krueger. “We have to tackle this problem head-on, and the best way to start is by keeping people in their homes in the first place. Home Stability Support will be a lifeline for thousands of New Yorkers to avoid falling into the cycle of homelessness, and it will also save millions of dollars for towns, counties and cities throughout the state. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can start bending the curve on homelessness in New York.”
State Senator Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York), the chair of the State Senate Committee on Social Services, said that the bill is an important step towards resolving one of the state’s biggest crises.
“The growing number of homeless New Yorkers — a significant portion of whom are youth — is heartbreaking,” said Persaud. “Preventing individuals and families from falling into the vicious cycle of homelessness through the Home Stability Support Program is the first step to reversing this crisis.”
Now that the bill has cleared the Senate Social Services Committee, it will be brought before the Senate Finance Committee for approval.
