Open Hearts Initiative Response to Mayor Adams’ Housing Plan

There are many promising commitments in this plan, and we look forward to seeing more details on how it will be implemented. We especially want to commend the directly impacted advocates whose input helped inform this plan, and we hope the administration will continue to engage with a wide range of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness to guide the implementation of these commitments and craft future policies. However, it’s also clear that New York must do much more to tackle the homelessness crisis, and must back up promising rhetoric with effective actions. The administration’s acknowledgement that homelessness is a housing problem is an important first step–but that approach was not reflected in the budget, which failed to adequately invest in affordable housing. The goals of the plan are also at odds with the administration’s sustained effort to “sweep” our unsheltered neighbors out of sight–an approach that does not get people housed but instead moves them from place to place and destroys their belongings and their trust. Similarly, we appreciate the administration’s recognition of the challenges that voucher-holders face, but conducting lengthy evaluations to identify administrative burdens is not enough when homeless New Yorkers have already done the work of highlighting specific issues with the voucher process that need to be changed. And crucially, the administration failed to address one of the most common concerns that homeless New Yorkers express: the need to move away from congregate shelter models and to invest in single-room transitional and permanent housing options. Ending homelessness requires political will, concrete and detailed solutions, and deep investments. If this administration truly wants to house our neighbors, as the plan’s title suggests, all three are needed.