{"id":13928,"date":"2020-01-27T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=13928"},"modified":"2022-10-09T07:07:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T11:07:58","slug":"nycs-five-year-plan-to-end-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/nycs-five-year-plan-to-end-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC\u2019s Five-Year Plan to End Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"
We will end street homelessness as we know it within the next five years.<\/strong><\/i> It\u2019s good to have goals, especially at the start of a new year, let alone a new decade. Goals give us a target, a sense of direction, and the motivation to get there.<\/p>\n New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio released a comprehensive plan<\/a> in late November outlining an ambitious but praiseworthy goal of ending street homelessness by 2024. Acknowledging his goal to \u201cend street homelessness within the next five years\u201d is a lofty one, the Journey Home<\/em> plan claims his team has \u201ccracked the code\u201d<\/em> and reveals steps no other city has tried.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s pull some highlights from the report and see what we can learn about the Journey Home<\/i>.<\/p>\n Starting with a definition of what the report coins as long-term street homelessness, the city\u2019s plan to end homelessness within five years applies to \u201cindividuals who have been experiencing unsheltered homelessness for long periods of time.\u201d This is a logical approach, as long-term homelessness often has a narrower scope of causes than temporary homelessness, making it a more manageable issue to tackle.<\/p>\n What will New York City\u2019s plan look like? Let\u2019s dig into a few highlights from its six-pronged approach.<\/p>\n Safe Havens are traditional housing programs that address the needs of homeless New Yorkers. Bill de Blasio\u2019s New York has more than tripled the number of Safe Haven beds in the past five years and has vowed to open an additional 1,000 beds within the next few years.<\/p>\n Safe Haven programs advertise themselves as being low-barrier<\/i>, using words like \u201cimmediate\u201d<\/em> and \u201cflexible\u201d<\/em> and \u201csupporting those who may be resistant to accepting services.\u201d<\/em> But, what does it actually mean? According to Safe Haven, for years their clients have said: \u201cGive me a bed to sleep in, don\u2019t force me to get sober, and don\u2019t impose a lot of structure on me, and I\u2019ll come.\u201d<\/em> And they did. Low-barrier programs encourage more buy-in. More Safe Haven beds mean more of New York City\u2019s people off the streets.<\/p>\n
\n~NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio<\/p>\nPlan in Action<\/h3>\n
Increase Safe Haven Capacity<\/h3>\n
Provide Coordinated Medical and Behavioral Health Care<\/h3>\n