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Testimony to the NYC Council Committees on General Welfare and Women & Gender Equity

Gabriela Sandoval Requena
Director of Policy and Communications
October 9, 2024

Thank you, Chair Ayala, Chair Louis, members of the City Council General Welfare and Women and Gender Equity Committees, and Council staff for holding this important oversight hearing and for the opportunity to submit written testimony.

Founded in 1994, New Destiny’s mission is to end the cycle of domestic violence and homelessness for low-income families and individuals by developing and connecting them to safe, permanent, affordable housing and services.

New Destiny is the only organization in New York City solely dedicated to the solution of permanent housing for survivors. We are the largest provider of supportive housing for domestic violence survivors in New York and a leading advocate in the effort to increase housing resources for New Yorkers impacted by domestic violence. To learn more, please see our policy recommendations.

We are also a co-convener of the Family Homelessness Coalition (FHC), a collective of mothers with lived experience of homelessness and organizations committed to tackling homelessness among families in our city, as well as a member of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.

NEW DESTINY’S 2024 REPORT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HOMELESSNESS

On July 18, 2024, New Destiny released the report: A Crisis Compounded: The Dual Crises of Domestic Violence and Homelessness, which documents the struggles and barriers that domestic violence survivors face when trying to secure safe, affordable housing after escaping from abusive relationships and the long-term impact abuse has on survivors. It also highlights the steps New York City and State can take to increase access to housing resources and help move survivors quickly from shelters to permanent homes.

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the release of the New York City Comptroller’s Housing Survivors report, which showed for the first time that domestic violence is a leading driver of homelessness. With the recent global pandemic and the economic downturn that followed, New Destiny felt it was time to analyze new data and reassess the opportunities and challenges facing survivors from accessing homes where they can rebuild their lives.

Domestic violence and homelessness are inherently linked. In the United States, 80% of women with children struggling with homelessness have also experienced domestic violence, and 57% of all women experiencing homelessness report domestic violence as the immediate cause of their homelessness.

This is particularly true in New York State, where more than 1 in 3 individuals will experience abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetime. New York ranks first in demand for domestic violence services in the country and requests for support and advocacy related to housing are the most sought.

Access to safe and affordable housing is one of survivors’ biggest, most urgent concerns and it often determines whether they leave their abuser and stay alive. Without housing, it is impossible for survivors to address the long-lasting health consequences of the abuse. Survivors are 31% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 51% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who have not been impacted by domestic violence. Also, new research shows that survivors sustain head trauma more often than football players, but their head injuries are rarely diagnosed and properly treated. This happens to such an extent that the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control now recognize intimate partner violence as a leading cause of traumatic brain injury. For children who experience or witness abuse, a safe home is essential to heal and break the cycle of violence.

In New York City, the police file 1 domestic violence incident report every 2 minutes and the 24-hour hotline receives 1 call every 6 minutes. For survivors, remaining in an abusive situation can mean death. Despite a general decline in violent crime in our City, domestic violence homicides increased by nearly 30% between 2021 and 2022.

Since domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness year after year, the City’s domestic violence shelter system, managed by the Human Resources Administration (HRA), is constantly at or near capacity. Meanwhile, thousands more families in the separate Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters, identify domestic violence rather than evictions as the main reason for their homelessness.

To complete this report, New Destiny analyzed 2018 through 2023 data obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests from HRA, DHS, and other agencies, as well as qualitative information from 24 domestic violence service providers in New York City. Some of the key findings are:

  • More families with children enter DHS shelters due to domestic violence than evictions. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, 20.3% of the families with kids population entered DHS shelters due to abuse, with evictions responsible for 11.1%. More than 1 in 5 families with kids in the DHS shelter system (2,911 families) identify domestic violence as the reason for their homelessness.
  • In calendar year 2023, 10,842 survivors sought refuge in the separate HRA domestic violence shelter system, a slight increase over calendar year 2022.
  • In 2023, 50% of NYC domestic violence hotline callers in need of shelter were single adults, yet only 18% were ultimately linked to a shelter.
  • Most people in HRA domestic violence shelter are children. In 2022, 58% were younger than 18, with kids under 5 representing 28% of the total population, the largest age group.
  • The vast majority of heads of households in the HRA domestic violence shelter are women of color. In 2022, 97% of heads of households identified as female and close to 60% self-reported as Black non-Hispanic and 33% as Hispanic.
  • The number of survivor-led households leaving HRA domestic violence emergency shelter for permanent homes has decreased by 18% between 2018 and 2023.
  • With so little housing available to homeless domestic violence survivors, they are more likely to move from shelter to shelter instead of housing. Between 2018 and 2023, more than half of survivors left HRA domestic violence emergency shelter for another shelter upon reaching the State-mandated 180-day limit.
    • Of the 2,284 survivor-led households who exited emergency shelter in 2023, 50% went to another shelter: 24% to the strained DHS system and 26% to HRA domestic violence Tier II shelters,
    • Only 9%, or 208 survivor-led households, moved to a permanent home. Of those, 11 moved to supportive housing, 13 to a public housing apartment, 74 to an apartment with a rental subsidy, and 110 to an apartment without a subsidy.
  • Survivors with families who time out of HRA emergency domestic violence shelter without a Tier II shelter placement must apply for the separate DHS shelter – at risk of being turned away. In 2023, 412 survivors with children had to apply for shelter and demonstrate eligibility without a secure placement.

RECOMMENDATIONS

New Destiny’s report provides an overview of existing programs available to survivors in New York City, explores their limitations, and offers a set of policy and budget recommendations to effectively unlock a path for them to attain long-term housing stability.

These recommendations are not meant to be comprehensive, but priority actions. They are all not only reasonable to administer and cost-effective, but they will have an immediate impact on thousands of domestic violence survivors by averting or mitigating the additional crisis of homelessness for them and their families.

We are only including the reports’ recommendations for New York City in our testimony, with updated language where applicable given the City’s recent actions. For the complete list of recommendations, please see the report.

1. EXPAND ACCESS TO HOUSING RESOURCES AND SERVICES:

1.a. Deliver on the commitment to open-up HPD homeless set-asides. New York City must deliver on the promises to expand access to affordable homes funded by HPD that are targeted for homeless New Yorkers, commonly known as HPD homeless set-asides, to individuals and families in all five shelter systems, including survivors in the HRA domestic violence shelter. Every year the City creates more than one thousand new homes that are specifically designated for New Yorkers in shelters, yet only those in DHS shelter are allowed to move there, unless a developer “volunteers” the units to other populations. By opening up this vital source of affordable housing, more survivors will be able to transition from HRA emergency domestic violence shelters to a safe home instead of another shelter, and the apartments will be filled substantially faster.

1.b. Pair all rental assistance programs with housing navigation and supportive services. Ensure that all rental assistance programs include funding for voluntary housing search assistance and case management. Navigating the rental market can be daunting for voucher holders, especially in a city like New York, where the vacancy rate is extremely low. The ability to work with a housing navigator not only expediates the process of finding a safe home that meets their needs, but it can help survivors address source of income discrimination, resolve bureaucratic problems with the agency issuing the voucher, and better understand their tenant rights and responsibilities. Similarly, timely access to services, such as mental and physical health care or financial coaching helps survivors address the multiple effects of the abuse as they rebuild their lives. New York City and New York State must make their rental assistance programs more efficient by including funding to provide voluntary and individualized support that help voucher holders find housing and access the services they need to remain stably housed.

1.c. Expand CityFHEPS eligibility to include survivors fleeing abuse, regardless of immigration status. A shelter stay is often required to qualify for rental assistance programs, which effectively excludes survivors who are fleeing abuse and have never spent time in shelter. As it is the case for countless survivors without children, who are often members of the LGBTQIA+ community, trafficking survivors, and older adults, and often unable to access domestic violence emergency shelter. Expanding all voucher program eligibility to include survivors who are escaping an abusive situation and regardless of family size, as the federal EHV program did, is vital. In 2023, the New York City Council passed a legislative package that scaled up CityFHEPS to include households at risk of eviction or experiencing homelessness, among other key enhancements. Such modification would expand access to CityFHEPS for survivors who are fleeing domestic violence. However, Mayor Adams refuses to implement the bills and the case is currently being litigated in court. The Adams administration must fully enact the CityFHEPS legislative package to ensure survivors fleeing abuse.

For noncitizen New Yorkers or those in mixed-status households, where at least one member of the family is a U.S. citizen or eligible immigrant, it can be difficult – if not impossible – to access sufficient housing support. This includes countless immigrant survivors of domestic violence, who lack equitable access to housing resources and, as a result, tend to stay in shelter for longer. During the pandemic, the State Legislature took direct, bold action to assist undocumented immigrants and their families by creating the historic Excluded Workers Fund. Now, it is time for New York City and New York State to work together to expand CityFHEPS to all who qualify, regardless of immigration status.

1.e. Allow survivors in HRA Tier II shelters access to the SHARE program: Undocumented survivors may spend years in HRA Tier II domestic violence shelters because they are not able to access rental assistance programs. The City must allow undocumented survivors in HRA Tier II domestic violence shelters access to the newly established SHARE program, which is only available to undocumented long-stayers in the DHS shelter system. Similarly, the State should ensure that undocumented domestic violence survivors across outside New York City can access RSP vouchers.

1.f. Address NYCHA emergency transfer delays: New York City must adhere to federal VAWA regulations and address the significant delays in NYCHA emergency transfers that put survivors’ lives in jeopardy. The City must ensure timely completion of repairs of vacant units, prioritize domestic violence emergency transfers, and assess alternative resources, such as Section 8, for pending transfers waiting over 12 months who are willing to relocate outside of public housing.

2. ENSURE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IS ACCESSIBLE AND ADEQUATELY FUNDED:

2.c. UPDATED: Improve City-funded supportive housing, NYC 15/15: Over the summer, the Adams administration delivered on their commitment to include survivors as an eligible population for City-funded supportive housing, NYC 15/15, by removing eligibility criteria that made most survivors – even those with the greatest need for long-term services – ineligible. Now, survivors with children that have gone through the double trauma of abuse and homelessness will be able to access the housing and services they need to address the long-lasting physical, psychological, and financial consequences of abuse.

We urge the City to increase overall access to supportive housing by building more, and relying less on an already crowded housing market, to house New York’s most vulnerable residents. New Destiny supports the Supportive Housing Network of New York’s recommendations to improve NYC 15/15, especially the ask to develop additional congregate units above the original 7,500 allocation. NYC 15/15 is in its eighth year and falling below its target. The city has only awarded 17% of scattered site allocation, whereas 80% of congregate units have been awarded. Similarly, we encourage the City to explore opening up NYC 15/15 to single survivors.

3. INCREASE INVESTMENT IN MICROGRANTS/FLEXIBLE FUNDING:

3.a. Invest $6 million in ENDGBV’s microgrant program: Nearly all survivors face economic abuse, and more than half endure coerced debt, with long-lasting detrimental effects. An immediate, but otherwise manageable financial or health crisis can quickly snowball into a catastrophe causing homelessness for survivors. In 2022, New York City took a major step in homelessness prevention by creating a housing stability program for domestic violence survivors, also known as microgrants. The program provides low-barrier grants to survivors and connects them to supportive services, with the goal of helping them maintain housing. During COVID, a privately funded microgrant pilot, overseen by the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence and administered by Sanctuary for Families, demonstrated that flexible funding can significantly improve survivors’ financial situation, help them remain housed, and foster financial stability. The pilot illustrated the high demand for low-barrier financial support among survivors of domestic violence in New York City. The $500,000 for the pilot was quickly depleted and forced the program to cease receiving applications in less than 2 months.

Based on existing, but limited, federal service funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, it is estimated that the average microgrant amount requested will be about $2,000. Considering that and annual domestic violence service data from the New York City Family Justice Centers, the City must increase funding for the program to at least $6 million.

4. IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING:

4.a. Improve Local Law 83 reporting: We cannot solve a problem that is not measured correctly. New York City must improve its data collection methods on HRA domestic violence exits by increasing the frequency of the Local Law 83 of 2018 reports from annual to monthly, including exits from Tier II domestic violence shelters, and including all permanent housing programs accurately. The City must produce a report that captures precise data on housing placements to assess the effectiveness of programs and the need for additional resources. Additionally, Local Law 83 findings should be included in the annual Mayor’s Management Report.

4.b. Include HRA domestic violence shelter demand to reflect the housing needs of single survivors: Housing developers build new projects based on documented need. Since the domestic violence shelter system in New York was created decades ago specifically for families with children, single survivors, who are often members of the LGBTQIA+ community, trafficking survivors, and older adults, are unable to access domestic violence emergency shelter and consequently permanent housing. The City must incorporate data on HRA emergency domestic violence shelter demand by household size on the monthly Temporary Housing Usage reports, also known as Local Law 79 of 2022, as well as the annual Mayor’s Management Report. This will help increase visibility of single survivors and better track the need for permanent housing.

We are grateful to Chair Ayala and the City Council for introducing legislation in response to recommendations 4.a. and 4.b., with Intros 1070 and 1071 respectively. We fully support the intent of these bills and look forward to working with the Council and peer domestic violence shelter providers to figure out the best data sourcing methodology.

Thank you for convening this important hearing and the opportunity to submit written testimony. New Destiny looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the Council.

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