New York Matches L.A.’s Commitment—One Billion Dollars

The city and state of New York have committed to a one billion dollar investment for housing the homeless. Click here. Like L.A.’s Mayor Villaraigosa, one billion dollars will be used for affordable housing.

While the details for L.A.’s proposed billion dollar housing bond doesn’t describe exactly how it would work or who would benefit, New York’s plan is very specific… The one billion dollars would be spent in a span of ten years to build 9,000 supportive housing units.

Permanent housing with supportive services is a key part of solving homelessness. Without housing that is affordable, helping people who are homeless is moot. Clearly, we need to assist in mental health treatment, drug treatment, employment training, and emergency shelter. But if they can’t afford a permanent home after treatment, homelessness just becomes a cycle.

Let’s hope that the proposed one billion dollar L.A. Housing bond will specifically commit to building more supportive housing units for the homeless than for simply “low-income” folks. “No-income” housing should take precedent over “low-income” housing.