Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing And Homelessness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Housing advocates warn cuts to Section 8 and emergency vouchers could fuel homelessness
Summary
Service providers told the Council cuts or eliminations of federal housing supports — including Emergency Housing Vouchers and other HUD streams — would push thousands of households toward homelessness and urged city contingency funding and planning.
Housing and homelessness providers told the City Council that threats to federal housing support would have immediate consequences for sheltered and at‑risk households.
Jade Vasquez, policy director at WIN, testified that federal cuts to HUD programs, reductions in Section 8 and elimination of Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) would directly imperil families in shelter and those with vouchers. WIN asked the city to allocate $263 million to preserve vouchers for roughly 10,000 households at risk of losing Section 8 and to boost immigration legal services and school supports for students in temporary housing.
Gina Capuchiti of New Destiny Housing warned that the federal notice that Emergency Housing Voucher funding was ending this year threatens nearly 8,000 households nationwide, including about 1,700 survivors of domestic violence in New York City who used those vouchers to exit homelessness. “These survivors… will return to homelessness or to abusive partners if they lose their voucher too soon,” Capuchiti said.
Nut graf: Providers told the Council that federal housing cuts would cascade through the shelter system, increase demand for city shelter placements, and force providers to use limited city dollars to backfill gaps. They urged the Council to press federal representatives, plan contingencies within HPD and HRA, and consider city budget allocations to prevent a wave of evictions and return to homelessness.
Witnesses also described the compounding effect of program terminations (FEMA shelter supports, HUD continuity) with broader federal actions that could reduce Medicaid and other supports, creating sustained pressure on shelters and social services.
Ending: Housing advocates requested specific city investments to preserve vouchers and emergency supports; Council members said they would examine those asks as they review the executive budget.
