From Hotels to HOUSING, Not Back to Congregate Shelters!
Mayor Bill De Blasio; Governor Andrew Cuomo
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In recent months, Mayor De Blasio has repeatedly talked about his plan to evict homeless New Yorkers from hotels and send them back to congregate shelters. In late May, hotel residents began receiving letters from the NYC Department of Homeless Services stating that “the moves will start soon….[and] as the city reopens, clients will be moving back to congregate shelters.”
The Mayor continues to move forward with these moves despite the hotel program's widespread success and available FEMA reimbursement for 100% of the costs to house homeless people in hotel rooms at least through September 2021.
Over the course of the last year, thousands of New Yorkers have gained access to greater stability, privacy, and dignity through access to hotel rooms. Data from shelter providers shows dramatically better health outcomes in hotels than in shelters, and homeless New Yorkers have spoken repeatedly about the positive impact that hotel rooms have had on their health, education and lives.
In contrast, moving people back to congregate shelters will immediately cause an increase in street homelessness. We know that many homeless people who are currently staying in hotels will not enter congregate shelters and will return to the streets. For those who do return to congregate shelters, these moves will cause traumatic effects and health risks. For many, anxiety, mental illness, substance use, and COVID rates will increase and people will die.
The COVID-19 pandemic gives us a once-in-a-generation chance to rebuild differently. Instead of causing further displacement and warehousing people in dorm-style shelters, the City can ensure that people continue to have access to safe, temporary hotel rooms and can then help them move quickly into permanent housing.
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To:
Mayor Bill De Blasio; Governor Andrew Cuomo
From:
[Your Name]
To Mayor DeBlasio and Governor Cuomo:
Hotels have been lifesaving and lifechanging for thousands of people during the pandemic. People in hotels need to move into permanent housing, not to be evicted and sent back to congregate shelters. We call on you to immediately halt your plan to move homeless people back to congregate shelters and instead offer permanent housing and hotel rooms to all who need them.
1. HALT ALL MOVES OF HOMELESS NEW YORKERS BACK TO CONGREGATE SHELTERS
Homeless New Yorkers know that crowded congregate shelters were unhealthy and unsafe long before COVID-19. The dorm-style living conditions, lack of personal space, and being deprived of basic things like privacy during a shower were all inhumane and unlivable. Hotels give homeless New Yorkers the ability to close the door and maintain a basic sense of sanity and safety, whether from COVID or anything else. Everyone deserves to live with safety, privacy, dignity, and respect.
2. IMPLEMENT AN EMERGENCY PLAN TO MOVE ALL HOMELESS NEW YORKERS FROM HOTELS INTO PERMANENT HOUSING.
Nobody should move from hotels back to congregate shelters when what they really need is permanent housing. This can be done by passing an emergency rule to immediately implement Intro 146 to increase CityFHEPS voucher amounts to Section 8 levels, using all available Section 8 vouchers for homeless people, using all available vacant HPD and supportive housing apartments, and using privately-owned vacant apartments throughout the City to house all who are homeless. We know that permanent housing is the solution, not shelters, and the City must act to move homeless people into permanent housing as quickly as possible.
3. OFFER HOTEL ROOMS TO ALL WHO NEED THEM.
Far too many are still in need of hotel rooms and FEMA continues to offer 100% reimbursement for all hotel room costs. We call on the City to immediately offer private hotel rooms to every person on the streets and subways. Private hotel rooms are also needed for thousands who are still stuck in shared settings, including those stuck in congregate shelters and shared hotel rooms.