Housing Vouchers For Homeless NYC Families Get Major Boost

NEW YORK CITY — Thousands of homeless New York City families could soon find permanent homes after a long-awaited change to a crucial housing voucher.

City Council members on Thursday approved a substantial increase in the value of CityFHEPS vouchers.

The vouchers have long failed to cover the cost of rent for a typical apartment in the city. Under the approved increase, advocates say 2,700 more homeless families a year can move from shelters and into permanent housing.

"Previously, New York City’s voucher system was effectively useless – offering homeless families false hope, then failing to provide a pathway out of shelter for far too many of them," Christine Quinn, president and CEO of Win, a shelter network, said in a statement. "This legislation will change that, helping up to 2,700 families each year move out of shelter faster and take an essential step to break the cycle of homelessness."

Family homelessness has long been an issue in New York City, but it often got lost in high-profile debates over homelessness on the streets and subways.

About 19,000 children sleep in New York City shelter every night, a recent Win study found.

Advocates have long-pushed for an increase to the value of CityFHEPS vouchers. Currently, their value for one person is $1,265.

The current value isn't much more for two people — $1,323. Likewise, it only provides $1,580 for three to four people.

Not one neighborhood in the city had rents low enough to be covered by the vouchers, according to StreetEasy data.

“Expecting a family of four to find an apartment for $1,580 a month in New York City is just absurd," City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement. "Yet that’s what we’ve done for years and then wondered why our homeless shelters were full."

Council Member Stephen Levin, along with Johnson, ended up pushing forward a measure that tied the value to the federal fair market rent. Such a move would open up apartments to voucher holders in 37 neighborhoods, according to StreetEasy data.

The new voucher values are:

• One person — $1,900
• Two people — $1945
• Three to four people — $2,217
• Five to six people — $2,805
• Seven to eight people $3,006