Workshop: Financial Assistance and Rental Subsidies // Taller: Asistencia Financiera Para Inquilinos

Monday, January 23rd, 10am-12pm
EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND RENTAL SUBSIDIES
a presentation by
The Human Resources Administration Department (HRA) of Social Services of New York City
Are you falling behind with your rent payments? Are you facing a non-payment eviction? Want to know how you can obtain assistance with your rent?

Come and learn how you can apply for financial assistance to pay rent arrears. Learn who is eligible, the documentation required, charitable organizations, rental subsidy (FEPS) and other services offered by HRA
Presented by: Karina Cuevas, Manhattan Borough Coordinator, NYC Human Resources Administration

Place: Sinergia Inc., 2082 Lexington Avenue between 125th and 126th 4th Floor New York, NY
Directions: Take the 4, 5, or 6 train to the 125th station. Bus: X80, M35, M60, M100, M101, & Bx15 to 125th St.
Date: Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Contact: Yesenia Estrella or Maria Pabón, Housing Advocates
(212) 643-2840 ext. 249 & 350
Email: yestrella@sinergiany.org
Spanish Simultaneous Translation is available but you must call to request it.

*****************************

Lunes, 23 de enero, de 10:00am – 12:00pm
Sinergia cordialmente les invita a un taller sobre:
ASISTENCIA FINANCIERA DE EMERGENCIA Y SUBSIDIOS DE RENTA
presentado por
La Administración de Recursos Humanos (HRA), Departamento de Servicios Sociales de la Cuidad de Nueva York

¿Está atrasado(a) con los pagos de su renta?¿Está siendo desalojado(a) por falta de pago? ¿Quiere saber como obtener ayuda con su renta?

Venga y aprenda cómo aplicar para asistencia financiera para pagar sus rentas atrasadas. Aprenda quienes son elegibles, que documentos se requieren, organizaciones de caridad, subsidio de renta (FEPS) y otros servicios ofrecidos por HRA.
Presentado por: Karina Cuevas, Coordinadora del Condado de Manhattan de la Administración de Recursos Humanos de la Cuidad de Nueva York
Lugar: Sinergia Inc., 2082 Avenida Lexington entre las calles 125 y 126, 4to Piso, New York, NY
Dirección: Tome los trenes 4, 5, o 6 hasta la 125.
Buses: X80, M35, M60, M100, M101, & Bx15 hasta la calle 125.

Fecha: Lunes, 23 de enero, 2012
Hora: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Contactos: Yesenia Estrella y Maria Pabón, Defensoras de Viviendas
(212) 643-2840; correo electrónico: yestrella@sinergiany.org
Traducción al Español estará disponible pero debe llamar para pedirla.

Preventing Homelessness in New York

The Advantage Program, which was set up to assist families living in shelters by providing rental subsidies for temporary housing, sadly ended earlier this year (read our post: "How do Homeless Families survive without the Advantage Program?"). Since then many people were left with unanswered questions, as was evidenced on a recent morning, when men and women worried about losing their homes attended a lecture entitled “Life After Advantage.” It was held at the Harlem storefront office of HomeBase Palladia, one of 13 HomeBase offices managed by different non-profit groups scattered around the five boroughs of NYC (for a complete list, see below). Their main mission is to prevent homelessness.

The speaker, Romy Martin, posed the question that was bothering every person in that audience: “What are my options when my subsidy ends?” First, she gave them some hard facts: landlords that take the Advantage subsidy will receive their October payments and tenants will be required to pay their share.

Then, she told them, “Depending on court actions, this may be your last month of subsidy. Regardless, the subsidy is coming to an end sooner rather than later. DHS has NO intention of restoring it or replacing it. This does not mean that your lease will terminate. If you have a lease, you will be responsible for paying the whole rent.”

Having established there’s no rescue in sight, Ms. Martin gave her audience good advice about taking steps to protect their own homes.

I CANT AFFORD THE RENT – WHAT DO I DO NOW?
If it is possible to increase your income this is a good time to do it. You could:
• Request additional hours at work
• Change jobs
• Make sure everyone in the household contributes to the rent
• Make sure all household members are receiving all benefits they are eligible to get
• Do budgeting; separate needs from wants
• Find a roommate

Other options:
• Consider moving to a more affordable space
• Explore other boroughs
• Apply for low income, affordable housing in lotteries every week at www.nyc.gov
• Follow up on NYCHA applications
• Check with DHCR to find out your legally registered rent in case the landlord wants to raise it

Meantime, the Legal Aid Society assures you the landlord cannot evict you without taking you to Housing
Court. You should not leave your apartment to reapply at PATH just because your Advantage rent has not been paid. You should know that landlords sometimes look at a person's history in Housing Court before deciding to rent them an apartment. So, if you have never been sued before in Housing Court, you might consider whether to leave your apartment before being sued.

You may be eligible for rent arrears under a rent program called FEPS (“Family Eviction Prevention
Supplement”). The FEPS program is available only to households with minor children with active cash public
assistance cases who have been sued by their landlord in a court case that can result, or did result, in their eviction and one of the elements in the case is/was that excess rent is/was owed.

In addition to facing a nonpayment or holdover case in housing court, you may also meet these requirements if:
• you were evicted within the past 6 months and are in the shelter system,
• you were evicted in the past year and are doubled up,
• you left your apartment due to a government vacate order, or
• you left your apartment because of a foreclosure proceeding.

Your rent must fall within the rent caps for your household size. The rules of FEPS are extremely complicated.

Legal Aid suggests you call HomeBase to talk about your options (see list below). Or walk in to the Crisis Intervention Program of the Coalition for the Homeless at 129 Fulton Street, lower Manhattan. Arrive by 8 am Monday through Friday to be sure you will be seen the day you come in.

If you are being evicted, call the Legal Aid office in your borough.
Bronx (718) 9991-4600
Brooklyn (718) 722-3100
Manhattan (212) 426-3000
Queens (718) 286-2450
Staten Island (347) 422-5333

Excerpted from How...When...Where: Information for homeless and relocated families in New York City
(November 2011)
Photo

How do Homeless Families survive without the Advantage Program?

The Advantage Program is a housing subsidy program for homeless families which began in 2007 and is operated by the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS).  Families who go through the shelter system receive a voucher which pays a substantial part of their new rent, making it affordable for people to move to permanent housing (providing a home to house a family is less costly than utilizing the shelter system for the homeless).  This arrangement lasted for two years, during which families were expected to become stabilized, find work and begin paying their own full rent.

Unfortunately, after the two year period, about 51% of the families were unable to pay their unsubsidized rent and subsequently returned to the City’s shelter system.  Because of its high recidivism rate, the Advantage Program has come under attack and the State has proposed eliminating the program completely.  The City responded by ceasing the signing of leases for current shelter families effective March 14, 2011 and will stop rent payments to landlords effective April 1, 2011 (more info on elimination of services).  The termination of the Advantage program will affect New York City families and, in turn, some of the families with disabled children served by the Tier II program and Housing Assistance Program at Sinergia.  We are already feeling the effects, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

One of our consumers, a mother, along with her non-verbal son with intellectual and developmental disabilities, were living in severely overcrowded conditions. The young boy's behavior in school was affected by this, as was his relationship with everyone in the household. While living under these conditions he regressed substantially and became withdrawn and depressed. The family moved into one of Sinergia’s Tier II apartment, which is meant to be transitional housing until families find permanent, affordable housing. Nevertheless, it provided space for the son to move freely, and he did not have to wait in line to use the bathroom and was able to sleep in his own bed.  His teacher noted his behavior and functional progress had improved remarkably. Once her son was stable, Sinergia helped the Mom to secure a job. She then met the requirements for the Advantage voucher, and she identified an affordable apartment that accepted it. Now this dream is on hold.

Another couple with three children, one with developmental disabilities, came to Sinergia’s Housing offices this week with a letter from DHS informing them that beginning April 1, 2011 they would no longer subsidize their $1,600 rent. The couple is devastated.  A year and a half ago they entered the shelter system and with the help of Sinergia were able to get an Advantage voucher and rent a three bedroom apartment.  The husband works, but doesn’t earn enough to pay the total rent.  They are concerned about returning to the shelter system; they remembered how much their kids suffered because of the conditions and instability of being homeless.

Both families are in limbo, overwhelmed by the lack of affordable housing in the city and what the impact of facing an unknown future will have on their children. We hope the City and the State will find alternatives to the Advantage program because low income families have few options for securing affordable housing in the marketplace. Otherwise we will see the return of families living on the streets or forced into inhumane homeless shelters. Children, especially those with disabilities, will suffer the most from the instability of a family adrift without a home.

UPDATE (3/31/11) - Legal Aid believes these terminations are unlawful and filed a lawsuit on behalf of tenants whose benefits were terminated.  As a result of this filing, the City was ordered to pay Advantage rents for current Advantage tenants for the month of April pending a hearing later this month. (We don’t know if the lawsuit will resolve anything, but we’re hopeful.)


Related resources:
Legal Aid’s flyers with additional information in English and Spanish, from the New Destiny Housing website. 
NYC: 15,000 Ex-homeless Families Losing Rent Help (WSJ)
Updates from the Coalition For the Homeless

A New Beginning for Tania and her Son

As a precursor to the Puertorican Day Parade, the 116th Street Fair on Saturday, June 12, 2010 was a feast of food, music and very colorful characters. Sinergia participated in the fun and fanfare thanks to a booth donated by Mt. Sinai Hospital. Our staff members were on hand all day long to answer questions and distribute brochures. We offered free blood pressure screenings in the morning which had a huge response, and during the "afternoon shift," Michael Mitchell, Tiffany James, Carmina Perez, Mildred Ramos and Lizette Dunn-Barcelona greeted people walking by to give them information about Sinergia's many services.

A young woman by the name of Tania, her disabled 9 year old son and her cousin were among those that stopped by. The mother and son had just arrived from Puerto Rico within the last two weeks and were staying with their cousin in the Bronx. Tania's son had had several surgeries in Puerto Rico and she was now trying to get special care for him in New York City. She was in need of medical and educational services for her son, and a place to live.

The following Monday Sinergia began working with Tania and within two weeks she and her son were living in one of Sinergia's Tier ll shelters funded by the Department of Homeless Services. She also began receiving case management services through our Family Support Program. Their case manager will ensure that her son's Medicaid services are in place, that all his evaluations are current and that he is enrolled in a district 75 school in time to begin classes this fall.

Both Tania and her son are doing well and are adjusting to life in NYC. Once her son is settled in school Tania hopes to begin looking for work in order to find permanent housing. She is grateful to Sinergia and looks forward to a long rewarding relationship with us.

Staff Spotlight: Michael Cortes, Esquire

It is with much pleasure that the Sinergia family congratulates Michael Angel Cortes on being admitted to the New York State bar on August 4th 2010. Mr. Cortes joined the Sinergia family a year ago as a Housing Advocate and has proved to be an invaluable asset to the organization. With Mr. Cortes becoming a licensed attorney, Sinergia can now offer legal advice and representation to our consumers when those services are needed. Sinergia looks forward to many more years of working with Mr. Cortes and in continuing to provide quality services to our community.

Home Based Services Extended for the Disabled

On September 24, 2009, the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (NYS OMRDD) received approval from the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue to operate the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver for another five-year renewal period, running from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2014. In addition to continuing to operate existing programs, OMRDD is planning to increase the types and amounts of services that can take place in the homes of individuals rather than in residential facilities.  This effort will help to make it possible for individuals with disabilities to remain in their own homes while still receiving the benefit of some services that, to this point, had only been available to individuals living in OMRDD certified residential settings.  As always, the initiatives are designed to foster an individual’s independence and to help them become more active and participatory members of their communities. Below is a partial list of the services. 

Intensive Behavioral Services
For those individuals with severe behavioral issues this service will allow them and their families to access intervention services that were difficult for families to obtain in the past.  This service will allow for professionals in this area to come to the home of these individuals and work with them and family members with strategies that will help to reduce the demonstrated behavior.  

Community Habilitation
This service is intended to be a more efficient mechanism for the delivery of habilitative services in the community (non-certified settings). Community Habilitation will facilitate community inclusion, integration, and relationship building. It is designed to offer a self-direction option to provide individuals with enhanced opportunities to choose and manage their own staff to the extent possible

Pathway to Employment
Will provide time limited supports for participants to explore work that might lead to paid competitive employment and/or self-employment/microenterprise.

Community Transition Services
This service is intended to support an individual transitioning from a provider-operated living arrangement to a living arrangement in a private residence where the individual is directly responsible for his/her own living expenses.  This includes shared living arrangements where a disabled individual may chose to live with a non-disabled person who may or may not be a member of his or her immediate family.

Self-Directed Service Options
OMRDD will enhance self-direction opportunities offered under the waiver by expanding the use of the co-management model in which individuals have more opportunities to choose and manage the staff that supports them through a formal agreement between the provider and the individual.


To read the full press release on the OMRDD site click here.

Workshop on housing for people with disabilities

Sinergia cordially invites you to:

"ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS"

 A workshop on housing options and services for people with disabilities

Learn how to get access to housing-related services, activities and programs including Supportive Housing, SRO’s, NYCHA, Section 8 and others. Get help ensuring compliance with local, state and federal housing laws, ordinances in various developments and new housing constructions.

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Time: 11:00 am –1:00 pm
Location: Morningside Heights Public Library‘s Community Room, 2900 Broadway @113th Street
Directions:
Train: 1 or B train to 110th Street
Bus: M11-Amsterdam Ave. or M104-Broadway
Contacts: Housing Advocates Michael Cortes & Maria Pabón, (212) 678-4700; email: mcortes at sinergiany.org

New housing options for individuals with disabilities

The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities' (OMRDD) 2009 Fall Housing Conference was extremely informative as organizations such as NeighborWorks America, Concepts of Independence, Dunn Development Co., The New York Association on Independent Living, USDA Rural Development and many more gathered to discuss the type of housing services and care their organizations provides.

The focus of the conference was to unify the fragmented world of available housing services provided for individuals with disabilities. The housing divisions of all of these organizations are vital to the our community as many aspire to live a more independent life and ultimately attain their dream of homeownership. This dream can now become a reality through OMRDD's Home of Your Own (HOYO) program.

HOYO was created to not only assist our consumers in purchasing a home, but it is also designed to help income-eligible parents, legal guardians and direct support professionals that care for them to purchase a home as well.

The requirements of each classified individual vary in eligibility for the program, but some common requirements are that you must:

1)    Be a first time homebuyer
2)    Be a New York State resident
3)    Meet the designated income-eligibility requirements
4)    Complete a HUD-Certified First-Time Homebuyer training

One of the main benefits of HOYO is it allows you to open an Asset For Independence Individual Development Account (AFI/IDA). AFI is a federal grant program from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services that finances a five year Individual Development Account (IDA). Through these accounts OMRD and AFI will match your rate of savings 1:4, so that every dollar you place into your IDA account will be matched four times over, up to the account's allotted maximum. The mortgages for these homes will be provided through the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA). SONYMA will finance 100% of these mortgages for a term of 30 to 40 years and have a fixed interest rate of 4%. There are currently 12 counties in New York where AFI/IDA accounts will be available. For more information contact Michael Cortes at (212) 678-4700 or mcortes at sinergiany.org.