Programs & Events
Housing Extremely Low Income Households: How Can Current Programs and Resources Better Meet Needs?
Date: Friday, October 15th 2010
On October 15, the Furman Center’s Institute for Affordable Housing Policy hosted a policy breakfast that brought together practitioners, developers, researchers and government officials to examine how existing programs and resources can best meet the housing needs of extremely low income households. As the recession persists, many families in New York City have seen dramatic reductions in their incomes. Meanwhile, evidence suggests that rents for the most affordable apartments have fallen only minimally, leaving a growing number of families facing extremely high rent burdens and even homelessness.
Panelists included:
Seth Diamond, Commissioner, New York City Department of Homeless Services
Martin Dunn, President, Dunn Development Corporation
Rosanne Haggerty, President, Common Ground
Michael P. Kelly, General Manager, New York City Housing Authority
Ingrid Gould Ellen, Faculty Co-Director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy (Moderator)
The panel engaged in rich discussion about existing programs and strategies to better utilize these resources. Panelists discussed strategies such as:
* Effectively integrating social services with existing housing programs that support extremely low income households;
* Identifying households most likely to become homeless and targeting homelessness prevention services for these households;
* Developing carrots and sticks so that apartment size and household size remain matched over time;
* Allowing subsidized tenants to live in shared housing arrangements;
* Developing a system of rental insurance for veterans and other vulnerable populations; and,
* Introducing more flexibility into subsidized housing programs to allow for mixed income housing that would help to cross-subsidize units for extremely low income households.
