Ask a Native New Yorker Posted on July 13, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Gothamist Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don’t be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who’ve lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers wo ..Read More
Assembly Leads Fight for Increased Supportive Housing Posted on July 10, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Press Release New York State Assembly Social Services Chair Andrew Hevesi today released a bi-partisan letter to Governor Cuomo signed by 133 members calling for the development of 35,000 new units of supportive housing by 2025 to address the state’s growing homelessn ..Read More
The Lazarus Effect: Team Tracks Down Homeless People in Need of Mental Health Medication Posted on July 12, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Miami Herald It’s just after 8 a.m., and Lazaro Trueba and Ivan Romero are driving around downtown with a pack of Clipper cigars and a stash of psychotropic pills in search of “Bigfoot.” At around 6-foot-6, he’s hard to miss. But after two decades living on the str ..Read More
Is Homelessness Really Falling? Probably Not Posted on July 2, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Huffington Post According to government data, the number of homeless people sleeping on the streets has fallen by 32% since 2007. Officials have interpreted the downward trend as evidence that we have finally learned what it takes to solve homelessness. Are they right? Probab ..Read More
“It Kind of Breaks You Down” Homeless Families and Kids Trying to Survive in One of America’s Richest Cities Posted on July 6, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Alternet Kewanee Colbert has a full-time job prepping food for one of those fancy gourmet meal delivery services that are booming in New York and other cities. Still, he lives in a Bronx shelter for homeless families with his fiancée and three kids, ages 2, 4, and 7 ..Read More
Albany Lawmakers Push for 35,000 New Housing Units to Fight Homelessness Posted on July 9, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News A bipartisan group of 133 state Assembly members is urging Gov. Cuomo to develop 35,000 units of supportive housing across the state to combat homelessness. The group sent a letter to Cuomo Thursday asking him to commit to develop the new housing — including ..Read More
In Homelessness Fight, Study Finds Section 8 Pays Off Posted on July 9, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Boston Globe Section 8 , the oft-maligned housing subsidy program, is more effective at lifting families out of homelessness than temporary assistance programs that carry roughly the same or higher costs, according to a study. The study, conducted for the US Department of ..Read More
To Slash the Amount of Money Spent on Homelessness, Just Give Homes Away Posted on July 9, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Guardian Last February, the coldest on record for the state of Connecticut, Jack Jakups and his girlfriend, Shannon McLaughlin, lived in a tent on the banks of the Connecticut River in Hartford. At night, they burrowed beneath piles of blankets with their dog, Cookie. ..Read More
HUD Report Says Housing Vouchers Best Type of Assistance Posted on July 7, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The New York Times The most reliable method in the fight to end homelessness is housing vouchers, a Department of Housing and Urban Development report released Tuesday found. The study examined homeless families in emergency shelters in 12 U.S. cities to find out how they respon ..Read More
