Homelessness & Housing Programs Information | The Heart of Jericho Coalition

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Homelessness & Housing Programs
What are the different types of housing programs?
What is Temporary Housing?
What is Transitional Housing?
What is the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act?
What is the Section 8 / Voucher program?
What percentage of homeless families have school age children?
Can homeless children continue to attend a school district years after they leave the school district?
Will a homeless shelter hurt the home values in Jericho?
What is the role of New York State, Nassau County and Town of Oyster Bay in regards to homeless shelters?

What is Transition Housing?

When homelessness first impressed itself on the national consciousness in the early 1980s, there was no such thing as transitional housing for homeless people. Even emergency shelters were few and far between, being run mostly by missions in run-down areas of big cities and accommodating mostly single men. The first expansion of homeless assistance took the form of more emergency shelter capacity. Only after several years of experience with people using emergency shelters did it become obvious that for some people emergency shelter would not be enough to help them leave homelessness for good. This recognition led to application of transitional and permanent supportive housing concepts to the field of homelessness.

Most transitional housing programs for homeless people that exist today specialize in serving households with serious enough barriers to getting or keeping housing that a period of stabilization, learning, and planning appear needed if they are ultimately to leave homelessness and stay housed. These households may already have some history of leaving homelessness for housing but not being able to maintain the housing, or they may have characteristics that are known to lower the probability of being able to maintain housing without supports.

Federal legislation to support the development of transitional housing programs for homeless people was first introduced in 1986, and ultimately incorporated into the first Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act in 1987 as part of the Supportive Housing Program (SHP). After a couple of years during which different SHP components authorized by the legislation were administered in different HUD offices, HUD created the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) in the division of Community Planning and Development to consolidate the pieces and manage and direct an integrated program.

Source: Urban Institute Characteristics of Transitional Housing for Homeless Families

What is the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act?

The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law that ensures the right of students to go to school even when they are homeless or don’t have a permanent address. The Act aims to reduce barriers that have prevented many homeless youth from enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school, including:

transportation
residency requirements
and documentation requirements, such as birth certificates and medical records.

All homeless young people—including “unaccompanied youth” not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian—who are:

living in emergency shelters or transitional living programs
staying temporarily with friends or relatives due to inadequate housing
or staying in motels, campgrounds, cars, or other temporary housing

Youth have the right to attend either:

the school nearest to where they are living
or the school where they were last enrolled (called “school of origin”), even if they move out of the school district

When youth choose to go to the school in the area where they are living, the school must immediately let students enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in school activities, even if students do not have a parent or guardian with them or documents typically required for enrollment, such as birth certificates, proof of residency, medical records, and school records.

Source: HHS Practical Application of the McKinney-Vento Act

What is the Section 8 / Voucher program?

Created by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1978, the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8, provides assistance to eligible low- and moderate-income families to rent housing in the private market. Eligibility for this program is based on a family's gross annual income and family size. The program works as a rental subsidy that allows families to pay a reasonable amount of their income toward their rent. Eligible families will receive a voucher to begin searching for housing. Generally, families will pay no more than 40 percent of their adjusted monthly income toward their rent share. NYCHA pays the remaining amount to the owner on the family's behalf. This payment to the owner is known as the Housing Assistance Payment. Section 8 participants must comply with all program requirements, including completing their annual certification, accommodating Housing Quality Standards inspections, allowing property owners to make any needed repairs, and adhering to the terms of their lease.

Source: NYC Housing Authority About Section 8

What percentage of homeless families have school age children?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments 2019 Point-in-Time (PIT) estimates that there are 429,303 homeless households in the United States as of January 2019. Out of that total, just under 53.7 thousand where family households with children and 3,695 where children only households. That means that 13.4% of homeless households had children under 18 years old.

That same report indicated New York State has 54,317 homeless households in the State of New York. Over 29% of the households had children under 18 years of age, including 15,901 family households with children and 93 children only households.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development 2019 CoC Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports