(CHELSEANOW.COM) Dusica Sue Malesevic, December 1, 2016 — For the Coalition for the Homeless, a major piece of the puzzle to get people permanently off the streets is to provide housing.

Known as the “Housing First” model, a homeless individual or family gets long-term affordable housing, which, depending on need sometimes comes with support services.

Giselle Routhier, policy director for the Coalition for the Homeless, spoke about the necessity of supportive housing at the Thurs., Nov. 17 meeting of the Midtown South Community Council (MSCC). The council, led by its president, John A. Mudd, continues to work on the homelessness issue in the area.

“Supportive housing is crucial for homeless individuals who are living with severe mental illness or other disabilities, including physical [or] developmental,” Routhier told the crowd at The New Yorker hotel (481 Eighth Ave., btw. W. 34th & W. 35th Sts.). “It’s really proven to be effective at getting people housed and keeping them housed,” she added.

Housing is the first step to recovering from issues a person may be dealing with from living on the street, Routhier explained. When a homeless individual has a stable place to live, he or she can then address issues — such as substance abuse or mental illness.

As policy director, Routhier says she oversees advocacy in New York City, which is focused on housing-based solutions to homelessness. The coalition has pushed both the city and state for more supportive housing units. Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to 15,000 units for the city, and Governor Andrew Cuomo committed to creating 20,000 units statewide.

Routhier said de Blasio has made some progress, and several hundred units are slated to come online this year. While the state legislature did allocate funding in last year’s budget for the first 6,000 units, it has yet to release that money, she explained.

Source: In Midtown South, Outreach to Homeless Expands | chelseanow.com