Press Statements
January 29, 2024
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org
VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS HOUSING ACCESS VOUCHER PROGRAM BILL PASSING OUT OF SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE
Read a Letter from Dozens of Western New York Service Providers Supporting the Housing Access Voucher Program, Covered Exclusively in Politico’s NY Playbook
NEW YORK — Today, in response to the New York Senate Housing Committee passing the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), VOCAL-NY released the following statement, attributable to Pedro Benitez, a Board Member and leader with VOCAL-NY based in Rochester:
“We applaud the Senate for moving this common sense piece of public policy forward. I urge Governor Hochul to read the letter signed by dozens of service providers based in Western New York, because she does not seem to see the suffering this housing crisis causes is being felt first and foremost in the community she calls home. Why else would she not be supporting a solution that is backed by so many advocates, providers, and landlords?”
BACKGROUND:
Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) is a part of VOCAL-NY’s 2024 Legislative Platform. HAVP is a state-funded rental assistance program which dedicates at least 50% of the program’s vouchers administered through public housing authorities to help homeless New Yorkers across the state find stable housing. The rest of the program’s vouchers will go towards eviction prevention for tenants at risk of becoming homeless. If funded at 1 billion dollars it would create enough vouchers to get everyone currently in shelter access to a market rate rental subsidy, as well as prevent thousands of evictions a year.
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