(IAHH) Marc Greenberg, February 16, 2020

I am pleased to report that, thanks to the strong and persistent efforts of the Bring it Home NY Campaign, Governor Cuomo’s executive budget now includes an additional 70 million dollars to support the 40,000 New Yorkers living in mental health housing across the state. These funds, when approved, will help support needed staff and help with crucial building repairs. To ensure that these funds remain in the final budget, our weekly Thursday 11 am rallies in front of Governor Cuomo’s NYC office will continue until the State budget is finalized in April. Click here to register to join us. We are pleased that the Interfaith Assembly has been able to play a role in providing some leadership at the weekly rallies over the past 4 months. 

This good news is the latest of a series of successes that can come about when the faith community, joining with service providers, other advocates, elected officials and those who themselves depend on these programs, come together to call for more equitable and compassionate public policies. Victories like these can only succeed with a broad network of support. Together, we have much more work to do, but working together, we can and will accomplish great things for those in our community who are most in need. 

More opportunities to make a difference:
Join the Interfaith Assembly and the Rescue Alliance on Saturday, March 28 — 10 am to 2:30 PM for the Come Together 2020: Homelessness Summit . 

If your congregation has underutilized space, you may want to consider hosting a “Safe Haven” transitional housing program.

As part of the Mayor’s ” The Journey Home” plan to reduce street homelessness by half over the next 5 years, the city is committed to creating an additional 1,000 Safe Haven beds and is seeking faith communities with potential space to have a discussion to determine if their space might be appropriate as a site to develop transitional housing for between 35 and 75 people. This could be an effective way to provide much needed revenues to a congregation while playing a crucial role in serving the most vulnerable among us. After their initial consultation, the congregation and the Department of Homeless Services staff would explore the possibility of partnering with one of the City’s excellent service providers to offer a  desperately needed transitional home for those on our streets. If this would be of interest to your congregation please let me know at Marc@iahh.org and I will put you in touch with the Department of Homeless Services staff working on this effort.

Exciting proposals put forward by two of the City’s top elected officials:Just last week NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who are both running for Mayor, each put forward their own very ambitious and visionary plans to address New York City’s Homelessness and affordable housing crisis.

Comptroller Stringer’s ” NYC for All: The Housing We Need” and City Council Speaker Johnson’s “Our Homelessness Crisis: The Case For Change” are well worth reviewing. The Interfaith Assembly looks forward to working with each of them to help advance the best of their proposals as we work to build a better city for all of us.

Thank you for all you do to help our neighbors in need.

Best wishes,
Marc L. GreenbergExecutive Director