Gov. Kathy Hochul to Provide Teams of Social Workers to Tackle Homelessness in NY state
To
provide shelter for 3 to 4,000 New Yorkers who are homeless on the streets, not
even counting the tens of thousands more who live in shelters, Gov. Kathy
Hochul explained that the state needs to use teamwork.
“Our
ultimate goal is to make sure that all New Yorkers have roofs over their heads
and that they are safe,” said Gov. Hochul, who today, launched her plan to
develop teams of social workers who will staff a state-funded program called,
“Safe Options Support” (S.O.S).
The
state-funded teams of trained professionals are going “to work hand-in-hand
with NYC outreach teams,” said Gov. Hochul, who is creating "teams of
trained professionals who will be embedded here, who will develop
relationships, develop trust, and allow us to face the issue of chronic street
homelessness with a plan.”
To
start off, Gov. Hochul wants “to staff up an initial five batches of teams of
eight to 10 medical professionals, social workers, and outreach people, who
understand the very deep human needs that lead people to need more help than
they are getting.
“We
are going to give homeless people the support they need. Get them into shelters
and, ultimately, into housing.
“As
I said yesterday, I believe we can and will do better.”
Gov.
Hochul called American homelessness, “truly a humanitarian crisis.”
“It
is hard to walk by someone in needs of help on our city sidewalks when we are
coming to subway stations, train stations, and just walking to work,” she said.
“These are the New Yorkers for whom the system has failed, and failure is not
an option for us in government.
“No
New Yorker should ever have to experience life on the streets.”
Street
homelessness, however, only accounts for a fraction of people who do not have
homes, so “in conjunction with launching a hands-on strategic approach to help
people on the streets,” Gov. Hochul wants homeless people "to have the
option to go somewhere else that is safe and worthy of them.”
To
that end, the governor is creating 100,000 new affordable housing units and
100,000 more supportive housing units that also provide services to people's
unmet needs, such as for mental health, substance abuse treatment,
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for veterans, runaways, formerly
incarcerated people, and others with traumas in their pasts.
“They
need our help,” said Gov. Hochul, who added “these types of facilities can
welcome people home again, and say, ‘This is your new life.’
“It
is beautiful how government can provide that to human beings. It is powerful,
and it is what we must continue to do.”
Photo by: Flickr