Gabriela Sandoval Requena
Director of Policy & Communications
gsrequena@newdestinyhousing.org
Domestic violence is the leading cause of family homelessness in New York City – as victims are often forced to flee their homes to be safe. For those who find safety in temporary shelter, they often find themselves homeless again at the end of their short stay. Almost half of survivors apply for shelter in the general homeless system within 30 days of leaving domestic violence shelters. While shelter will always be an important resource for victims of domestic violence, it should not be their only resource. Safe, affordable, permanent housing is the required platform for rebuilding the lives of homeless domestic violence survivors and creating better futures for their children. New Destiny’s advocacy works to address the need for permanent housing solutions as a means to ending domestic violence with the goal of creating political commitment to effective solutions to stem the tide of family homelessness.
Click here to read our Policy Priorities.
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Click here to watch the livestream recording of New Destiny’s Inaugural Symposium: Innovative Housing Solutions to Address the Homelessness Crisis for Domestic Violence Survivors
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Our advocacy, often in collaboration with other organizations, has resulted in changes to regulations and additional resources for both domestic violence survivors in the homeless shelter system and those at-risk of becoming homeless. New Destiny is a co-convener, along with Enterprise Community Partners and Citizen’s Committee for Children, of the Family Homelessness Coalition (FHC) which is comprised of human service providers, advocates, affordable and supportive housing developers, and New Yorkers who have experienced family homelessness firsthand. The FHC advocates for policies and resources that prioritize homeless families with children on the City’s homelessness agenda including recommendations and priorities for Fiscal Year 2023.
Visit the FHC’s website and follow on twitter.