July 12, 2024
Contact: Julia Roach | jroach@skdknick.com
NY SANE Coalition Members Endorse Legislation to End City’s Cruel and Inhumane Shelter Stay Limits
Coalition letter to Speaker Adams urges passage of Intro 210, which would prevent thousands of individuals and families from sleeping on NYC streets
NEW YORK, NY — Today 65 members of NY SANE, an advocacy coalition comprised of religious institutions, organized labor, and advocates defending the right to shelter, announced its endorsement of Intro 210 – legislation that would prohibit the Department of Social Services or any other city agency from imposing length of stay restrictions in a shelter of any type. The endorsement, formalized in a letter to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, underscores the need to immediately end the Adams Administration’s 30-day shelter limit for single migrants and 60-day limit for families – policies that deny safety and stability to those who need it most and deepen the challenges faced by vulnerable individuals and families seeking refuge and a fresh start.
"Win is proud to endorse Intro 210 and join forces with our partners in the NY SANE coalition. Advocating for New York City means advocating for ALL New Yorkers, including our newest arrivals,” said Christine Quinn, CEO & President of Win, a founding member of NY SANE. "We’ve spent the past two years creating policy recommendations for how best to save money while still saving lives, yet the City continues to enforce ineffective and counterproductive shelter limits. It is our firm belief that every individual and family deserves the opportunity to find stability and security, and this legislation is a crucial step in that direction."
In the heart of one of the world's wealthiest cities, approximately 148,000 individuals, including families with children, rely on shelters for a place to sleep each night. Yet, amidst this backdrop of profound need, New York City's shelter policies could thrust thousands of recently arrived migrants directly into the harsh realities of street homelessness. Intro 210, if passed, will mark a significant step towards more compassionate and effective solutions for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. The legislation seeks to put an end to the senseless practice of evicting individuals and families from shelters based on arbitrary time limits. NY SANE urges policymakers and elected officials to support this critical measure to protect the right to shelter for all.
"Putting arbitrary time limits on how long people can stay in shelters is harmful and counterproductive. Instead of continuing to try to undermine New York City's Right to Shelter, the Mayor and the Governor should create a coordinated strategy to provide people with the services they need to exit shelters into permanent housing so they can build new lives in communities across New York City and State,” said Dave Giffen, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless, a founding member of NY Sane. “Immigrants have always been a vital part of New York's workforce and economy and add to the city's cultural vibrancy. Ending shelter time limits is a critical step toward helping the newest New Yorkers get on their feet, find work, and build stable lives."
"These shelter limits have done nothing but exacerbate an already traumatic experience for new arrivals," said Sosseh Prom, National Housing Justice Director at African Communities Together. "We must come together and put a stop to inhumane policies that penalize families for seeking safety and stability, especially when there are holistic solutions available that not only address housing needs for new arrivals but for all New Yorkers in need."
"The current 30- and 60-day shelter stay limits impose inhumane limitations on some of our city's most vulnerable. As healthcare providers in New York City, we are deeply familiar with the fundamental importance of stable shelter to good health, as well as the deep harms that street homelessness can cause,” said the New York Doctor’s Coalition. “Intro 210 provides an essential foundation for a path to housing, which is necessary for the stable health and wellbeing of our new neighbors"
"We are proud to support Intro 210 to end the Mayor’s cruel and counterproductive shelter evictions for asylum seekers,” said Judith Goldiner, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “Imposing arbitrary shelter time limits on our clients and all New Yorkers experiencing homelessness will only make it harder for families to find stability and end up costing the City more time and resources. We thank Council Member Shahana Hanif for her leadership on this issue."