Mayor Bill de Blasio standing next to a chart labeled Rental Assistance Reduces Homelessness shows how his new Comprehensive Homeless Service plan will stabilize, then prevent future increases of Homelessness in the city.
During the almost two hour presentation Mayor de Blasio held at Bronxworks located at 1050 Grand Concourse several speakers including Keshaw Wood a single mother who was facing eviction and one step away from being homeless gave her story of how Homebase helped provide her with a lawyer who won her case and even was able to have her rent reduced in the process. Ms. Wood is now on her way to becoming a registered nurse, and should never have to go through the process to which she was subjected to. Mayor de Blasio has placed an integrated management structure with both the Human Resources Administration (HRA), and Department of Homeless Services (DHS) reporting to a single Commissioner of Social Services under current DSS/HRA Commissioner Steven Banks.
The four major reforms are, Preventing Homelessness, Getting families out of shelters and into permanent housing, Improving the current shelter system, and helping today's homeless population. The mayor spoke of shutting down certain current shelter sites that have numerous violations or are unsafe for families, which has already begun according to the mayor. Homeless housing is part of his goal in the new or preserved 200,000 units of affordable housing goal.
The mayor stated that under former Giuliani there were 23,000 homeless people, under Mayor Bloomberg that number rose to 33,000, and currently is at 50,000 people which includes more children than before, adding that families in shelters may have a working adult member.. His aim is to get families out of city shelters and into permanent housing
Above - Ms. Wood explained her problem of almost being evicted, and how the city helped her overcome that problem.
Below - Mayor Bill de Blasio expands on what the city has done for Ms. Wood, and what he hopes can be done for many others who may be in her situation.
Above - On the far right is Bronx Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson who the mayor thanked for her role in getting this process started, and Councilwoman Gibson thanked the mayor for the new Homeless programs designed to keep at risk families in their apartments.
Below - New DSS/HRA Commissioner Steven Banks explains more of the job that he will be doing.
After the presentation Mayor de Blasio took questions, some of which were about the current police influence peddling scandal, and if the mayor has been questioned, asked for counsel, and if he had any role in the scandal to which the mayor said that it occurred before his victory, and that he has not been questioned by federal authorities, he does not think he will be questioned by them, and that he hold himself and his staff to the utmost standards. He added that this was going to be the last tome that he would answer anymore questions on the subject.
