By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and City Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park on Monday announced “Project Home,” a pilot program to provide intensive, specialized housing search assistance to domestic violence survivors with children living in city shelters.
Beginning with 100 families, Project Home will help domestic violence survivors find safe, permanent homes and reduce the amount of time spent in shelter. Launched in partnership with New Destiny Housing — a nonprofit that provides housing and services to domestic violence survivors and their families — the pilot is funded with a $300,000 grant from the NYC Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness.
Adams also on Monday announced expansions to eligibility for supportive and affordable housing units for survivors of domestic violence, minimizing the amount of time survivors spend in shelter and significantly increasing the permanent housing options available to them.
“Everyone deserves to be safe in their relationships and live a life free of domestic and gender-based violence,” Adams said. “But for too many New Yorkers, home is no longer safe and, too often, domestic violence survivors end up in shelters as they are forced to leave their homes.
One hundred families staying in City Department of Homeless Services shelters will be randomly selected from the pool of eligible households, comprised of those in shelters as a result of domestic violence. The participating families will be directly connected to a specialized housing navigator — trained in the challenging dynamics of domestic violence as well as affordable housing — who will work closely with each participating family to quickly secure permanent housing. They will identify appropriate apartments from trusted landlords, advocate on behalf of the family with landlords and brokers, and assist with applications, with the goal of minimizing the amount of time each family spends in shelter.
To ensure families remain stably housed for the long term, this pilot will include an aftercare coordinator to provide light-touch services after families move out of shelter. These light-touch services will include financial coaching; connecting families to new doctors, schools, childcare, and other resources in their new neighborhood; and linking families to counseling to help survivors recover from the traumas of homelessness and domestic abuse. The aftercare coordinator will also assist families in obtaining or maintaining government benefits. Aftercare services will be available to families for up to one year after they move into their new home and are supported by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Currently, residents of City Human Resources Administration (HRA) Domestic Violence Shelters are ineligible for HPD units, which are set aside for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, as eligibility is based strictly on stays in DHS shelters. To eliminate this unnecessary discrepancy between the two systems and expand access to affordable housing for a vulnerable population, DSS and HPD will allow clients in HRA shelters to apply directly for these units, ultimately shortening their stays in shelter. Additionally, in partnership with DOHMH, DSS will expand eligibility for city-supportive housing, which currently provides rental assistance and on-site supportive services to individuals and families struggling with homelessness and serious behavioral health challenges, to also include survivors of domestic violence and their families. These families will have access to on-site services to help them maintain stability.
