Jade Vasquez of Win testifies on CityFHEPS administrative delays
Jade Vasquez of Win says 97,000 people sleep in city shelters, 70% in families with children, and average family shelter stays rose from 372 to 415 days. She supports Intros 98, 100, and 101 to speed inspections, track lease-up times, and require 15-day processing.
Good afternoon, Chair Hudson and members of the General Welfare Committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on these critical CityFEP's administrative reforms.
My name is Jade Vasquez.
I am the Director of Policy and Research at Wynn, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for families with children in New York City.
We operate 16 shelters and 500 units of supportive housing across the five boroughs, and each night 7,000 people call Wynn home, including 3,800 children.
Despite a moderate decline in the shelter census, today 97,000 people sleep in New York City shelters, 70% of whom are families with children.
CityFAPS is our most effective tool to solving this homelessness crisis, but constant administrative delays are keeping families trapped in shelters far longer than necessary.
For example, the most recent mayor's management report stated that the average length of stay for families in shelter jumped 12% last year, from 372 days to 415 days.
For the 15,000 children under six in DHS shelters, that is nearly a quarter of their lives.
And this isn't due to lack of available vouchers, but oftentimes due to city policy, delays caused by city policy.
For example, the administration's new rent reasonableness process has added months to application reviews, causing city FAPS exits and wind shelters to plant by 21% from this time last year.
We thank Speaker Menon and the council for
Your leadership on recent investments to CityPhelps expansion and the legislative package being heard today.
We proudly co-crafted some of these bills with direct input from our clients.
Intro 98 speeds up housing by establishing an inspection hierarchy and allowing minor issues to be fixed on the spot rather than forcing weeks of re-inspection delays.
Intro 100 mandates transparency by tracking the exact time it takes to secure housing after receiving a voucher.
And Intro 101 establishes predictability by requiring city FEP applications to be processed within 15 days.
CityFaps has proven to work, but it must be modernized and set up for success.
These bills represent a massive step toward helping our lowest income families find stability.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.