Advocates Like, and Critique, de Blasio’s Homeless Plan

Homeless advocacy groups have generally praised the policy recommendations Mayor de Blasio announced Monday after his administration’s 90-day review of existing programs. But they do have a few suggestions of how the plan could be even better.

Advocates were very pleased with the inclusiveness of the review, which included interviews with 400 advocates, city staff members, and homeless policy experts. Tony Hannigan, executive director of the Center for Urban Community Service called the plan “the most sweeping set of changes and new initiatives that I have seen in twenty-five years of working with the city’s homeless services and shelter system.” Arnold Cohen, president and CEO of Partnership for the Homeless and a longtime advocate for system overhaul, lauded the integration of HRA and DHS, declaring “we can now begin to design a seamless model where city agencies and community-based organizations are sharing data and working with common metrics for success.”