By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park on Friday announced progress connecting New Yorkers living in shelter to permanent housing, with technological improvements to further streamline access to City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention (CityFHEPS) vouchers, the largest city-funded rental assistance program in the nation. CityFHEPS voucher holders will now be able to renew their CityFHEPS case and check the status of their case online using DSS’s benefits portal, ACCESS HRA and the ACCESS HRA Mobile application, ensuring long-term housing stability for CityFHEPS voucher holders.
The Adams administration also announced on Friday that as a result of robust CityFHEPS reforms — including lifting the 90-day rule, as well as staffing, process, and training improvements — permanent housing placements from shelter using CityFHEPS vouchers have increased 10 percent during the first three months of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) compared to the first three months of FY23. Additionally, in the two months since Mayor Adams expanded the use of CityFHEPS to obtain permanent housing in any county or locality across New York State, the city announced that 15 households are already in the process of moving or have moved to localities outside of New York City where they can now utilize CityFHEPS vouchers.
With a vacancy rate for affordable housing ranging between 1 and 5 percent, many New Yorkers have had a difficult time finding an apartment even after receiving a voucher. Currently, approximately 10,000 households in shelter have qualified for a CityFHEPS voucher but are unable to use it due to a lack of housing. To address this issue, Adams said he has focused on cutting red tape and streamlining government processes to accelerate the production of new housing and continues to advance his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal to create more than 100,000 homes through zoning changes.
The City has also focused on technology improvements that make it easier for New Yorkers to access their benefits. Beginning this week, CityFHEPS voucher holders will be able to renew and check the status of their application online using DSS’s benefits portal ACCESS HRA and the ACCESS HRA mobile app. Featured CityFHEPS updates on the ACCESS HRA portal include:
- CityFHEPS Cases: CityFHEPS is being introduced into the ACCESS HRA family of benefit programs. Clients will now be able to link to their CityFHEPS case and view information about their case online.
- CityFHEPS Renewals: Eligible clients can now submit their CityFHEPS Renewal and upload any supporting documents using the ACCESS HRA Mobile App.
- CityFHEPS Good Cause Requests: Clients who are completing their fifth-and-final year of rental assistance can apply for a good cause exemption or extension during the online renewal.
- CityFHEPS Case Changes: Clients can download the CityFHEPS modification form to report a change in their rent, household, or income.
- Featured Updates in the ACCESS HRA Mobile Application: CityFHEPS case information, document status, and renewals are all fully integrated into the ACCESS HRA mobile application in addition to the client portal.
Since the implementation of City-funded rental assistance in 2014, nearly 160,000 New Yorkers in over 70,000 households have been helped to move into permanent housing or remain stably housed. Currently, the CityFHEPS program alone supports 36,000 households by providing a rental subsidy.
