New York – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park today 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.
Mayor Adams also today 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. These eligibility expansions undo unnecessary bureaucratic rules that have historically made domestic violence survivors ineligible for New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) supportive housing or New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) affordable housing and expands the pool of homes available to this vulnerable population.
"Everyone deserves to be safe in their relationships and live a life free of domestic and gender-based violence," said Mayor Adams. "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. Today, we are giving survivors hope with Project Home, a pilot program to provide housing assistance to domestic violence survivors living in shelter.
We're also announcing expanded eligibility for supportive and affordable housing for survivors, helping families move into permanent housing faster. This announcement builds on our work to deliver a safer city for all New Yorkers, especially domestic violence survivors, and is another commitment delivered from part of our 'Women Forward NYC' initiative — a more than $43 million investment that addresses the needs of women across the five boroughs."
"For families that have experienced domestic violence, shortening the steps needed to secure a safe, stable home is critical," said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. "This new pilot will provide specialized support to those families and lessen the time spent in shelter before moving to permanent housing. As we continue to fight for a world free from domestic violence, we are taking action to support survivors today."
"Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness for New York families entering the shelter system, further upending a survivor's ability to heal and build community in a permanent home. To show the Adams administration's commitment to tackling the issue of family homelessness head on, we set a goal of increasing the number of families with children existing shelter into permanent housing by 25 percent," said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. "I thank the Department of Homeless Services and New Housing Destiny, a trusted community partner, for supporting our goals to bring domestic violence survivors and their children in shelter back into local communities through housing search assistance."
Comments