The Campaign for New York/New York Housing

The Campaign for New York/New York Housing
By Nora MClaughlin and Carla Rabinowitz, Community Access, Inc.
Hundreds March for Housing for New York's Most Vulnerable
Tourists and businessmen alike could not help but tune their ears to choruses of: “Governor Cuomo hear our cries! Supportive housing saves lives!” and “What do we need?” “Housing!” “When do we need it?” “Now!”
At 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 12, 2015, over 300 individuals gathered to march outside Governor Cuomo’s Midtown office to demand 35,000 more units of supportive housing be built throughout the state of New York over the next ten years.
The Campaign for New York/New York Housing is the fourth of its kind and aims to provide permanent housing combined with support services for mental health recipients, people who are homeless and vulnerable populations of New York (e.g. domestic violence survivors, those with HIV/AIDS and at-risk youth).
Passionate members of the community attended the rally, adorned with appropriately-decorated t-shirts and posters, to peacefully motivate change throughout New York.
Along with saving the lives of thousands of New Yorkers, the implementation of the Campaign for New York/New York’s platform would also enhance property values and save tax dollars. Based on evidence from similar initiatives in the past, it is clear that real estate values increase for properties surrounding supportive housing developments. Additionally, for each new unit of supportive housing, $10,100 in taxpayer dollars is saved yearly. “Supportive housing solves homelessness, improves neighborhoods, and saves tax dollars.”
With such documented success, supportive housing seems like a clear replacement for more traditional and expensive methods of institutionalization and/or imprisonment. However, Governor Cuomo’s proposal addressing this issue calls only for 5,000 additional units of supportive housing, in comparison to the 35,000 units the campaign demands. The governor’s proposal is not nearly sufficient in a state where currently only one in every five eligible applicants can be awarded supportive housing, and where homelessness is only on the rise.
The campaign has support from a multitude of high-profile organizations. This year’s organizer, Patrick Markee of the Coalition for the Homeless, attracted representatives from his own company to attend the event, as well as individuals from Community Access, VOCAL-NY, Housing Works, and more.
Hundreds of residents of the local homeless shelters and city supportive housing units stood with the Campaign for New York/New York Housing in an effort to improve quality of life for their own communities. There is nobody more qualified to demand change than those experiencing its absence firsthand.
At around 11:30 the rally concluded with a march across the street to a public piece of sidewalk.  Participants gathered and promised to continue to fight for the passage of the Campaign for New York/New York’s platform for supportive housing. As the crowd dispersed, a sense of hope lingered.

MFY Legal Services, Inc. and Center for Court Innovation Partner to Preserve Affordable Housing in East Harlem

MFY Legal Services, Inc. and Center for Court Innovation Partner to Preserve Affordable Housing in East Harlem

By Shafaq Khan, Staff Attorney, MFY Legal Services, Inc.

MFY Legal Services, Inc.’s Mental Health Law Project provides free legal services to people with mental illness who live in New York City, including advice, brief service and full representation on a variety of civil legal issues. The project’s focus is to help people with mental illness continue to live and thrive in their communities. As a result, MFY attorneys are part of the battle to preserve affordable housing for all low-income New Yorkers.
In a recent pilot program, MFY has partnered with the Center for Court Innovation to establish a legal clinic for people with mental illness at the Harlem Community Justice Center community court in East Harlem (“HCJC”). Unlike other housing courts, HCJC is a community court aimed at preserving and empowering the East Harlem community. The court acts as a family court and housing court. It also provides community programs to reduce youth crime and improve school attendance, amongst other things.

East Harlem is undergoing rapid gentrification. Construction of market-rate housing is underway and some East Harlem landlords are targeting rent-regulated apartments. Once emptied, the landlords can rent the apartment at a higher rent. As a result, many landlords bring baseless lawsuits with the hope that tenants do not show up to court and then get default judgments of eviction against them, or pressure unrepresented tenants who do appear in court into unfavorable settlements.

Additionally, the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) has a number of East Harlem public housing projects and is in housing court as a landlord, bringing nonpayment of rent cases, often based on incorrect rent calculations. The housing court’s docket also has a number of repairs cases brought by tenants against NYCHA. For example, tenants file repairs cases if NYCHA fails to address bedbug infestations, or paints over mold rather than treat the underlying condition. These cases are important because substandard apartment conditions can exacerbate psychiatric symptoms and/or cause physical illness.

The HCJC provides targeted eviction prevention assistance through its Help Center (the “HCJC Help Center” or “Center”). All New York City housing courts have help centers for tenants. However, the HCJC Help Center is operated by the Center for Court Innovation and is slightly different from other help centers. It is staffed by a dedicated team of professionals to provide tenants with additional assistance. This additional assistance includes a center coordinator who meets with tenants and makes referrals to appropriate agencies. The Center also has a Human Resources Administration (“HRA”) representative to help eligible tenants with arrears assistance.

The idea for the legal clinic came from a realization that there was an unmet need to assist unrepresented tenants with mental illness. Some of these tenants receive services from an agency called Adult Protective Services (“APS”). APS provides social services to senior citizens and people with disabilities. When a case is referred to APS in housing court, the tenant is evaluated by APS to determine eligibility. APS sometimes recommends a guardian ad litem (“GAL”) when the tenant cannot adequately defend or protect her rights. The GAL reviews settlement agreements, appears in court, negotiates with landlords’ attorneys, and applies for grants to pay arrears.

However, the HCJC Help Center noticed that many tenants with mental illness were never referred to APS. If they were referred, they were found ineligible to receive services and the assistance of a GAL. Even for those who were eligible, a GAL is not the same thing as having an attorney. The staff at HCJC Help Center identified this gap and therefore established a legal clinic staffed by MFY attorneys.

An MFY attorney meets with tenants in the East Harlem housing court twice a month. The initiative has helped ease the stress of housing court cases on low-income tenants with disabilities by providing immediate and easy access to an attorney. A court-based attorney makes it easier for tenants to stay in communication with the attorney. A tenant can make an appointment or come by after her court date when the details are still fresh in her mind. Clients can tell family members, caseworkers or home health aides to drop off documents for MFY at the Center because it is a short walk from their home. Additionally, the MFY attorney can track landlords that target rent-regulated tenants, make NYCHA tenants aware of recent lawsuits that affect their rights, and build relationships with court personnel.

Following is a typical example of the types of cases we see. A notorious landlord brought a nonpayment of rent proceeding against Ms. N. Ms. N was struggling with depressive symptoms and never showed up to court. The landlord got a judgment and evicted her family. She requested emergency relief from the court and got a two-week extension to pay the arrears in order to be restored to the apartment, during which time the landlord was prohibited from renting out Ms. N’s apartment. The short timeframe was overwhelming, especially since Ms. N and her three children were in a shelter and it would be difficult for her to negotiate the various bureaucracies necessary to obtain the back rent. She was terrified she would not regain the apartment her family had lived in for twenty years.

Ms. N, a NYCHA Section 8 recipient, had tried to apply for a grant from HRA to pay the arrears. To qualify, she had to show she could afford the rent. The problem was that she received a NYCHA termination notice because she had not renewed her Section 8 voucher. HRA told Ms. N that they would not give her a grant because she could not afford the rent without a valid Section 8 voucher.

MFY took the case and reviewed Ms. N’s notices from NYCHA. Her Section 8 voucher was still valid because of a grace period. We provided proof of the valid voucher and her income and applied for an HRA grant. With our advocacy, HRA processed and approved her grant in one business day. We also helped Ms. N renew her Section 8 voucher. Ms. N and her family safely returned to their home.

As the initiative progresses, MFY will continue to represent tenants with mental illness to maintain their housing, get repairs in their apartments, provide community trainings about relevant issues and work with the HCJC Help Center to empower tenants with mental illness so they may remain in their community.

Note: The MFY legal clinic is for tenants with a mental illness who have housing court cases in Harlem Community Justice Center. This housing court serves tenants who reside in apartments located in 10035 and 10037, all tenants from NYCHA Projects located in 10029, and tenants from NYCHA's rehab projects located in 10026. The Help Center should be able to schedule appointments for legal clinic or the tenant can drop by the Help Center in the courthouse to set up an appointment. The Help Center phone number is 212-360-8752.

Pullout: “The initiative has helped...by providing immediate and easy access to an attorney...[who] can track landlords that target rent-regulated tenants, make NYCHA tenants aware of recent lawsuits that affect their rights, and build relationships with court personnel.”

Meet the New Deputy Executive Commissioner

Meet the New Deputy Executive Commissioner

By Dan Frey, Editor in Chief

Crucial Issues to the Mental Health Community Discussed

On January 20^th at Fountain House clubhouse in Hell's Kitchen, members of New York City's mental health community met the new Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Division of Mental Hygiene: Gary Belkin, MD, PhD, MPH. The event was organized by the DOHMH Office of Consumer Affairs whose mission is to ensure that the consumer perspective is heard and integrated at all levels of government. Carlton Whitmore is the director of this office and Teena Brooks, LMSW, assistant director.

Dr. Belkin responded to questions from a planning committee whose members were: Wendy Brennan, Lynnae Brown, Angela Hebner, Carla Rabinowitz, Samene Reid, Rachel Saloman and Moneer Zarou. Topics ranged from housing and criminal justice to employment and managed care. Some topics listed in the evening's program such as cultural competence and the assisted outpatient treatment program were barely touched upon.

Housing

On housing, Dr. Belkin said that governor Cuomo might approve funding for around 5,000 units of housing for New York State's homeless, mental health, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and domestic violence populations, including families and youth. The campaign for supportive housing, known as NY/NY 4, requested 30,000 units for these disadvantaged groups in New York City over ten years.

Criminal Justice

On criminal justice, Dr. Belkin said that, in response to the unnecessary death of a mentally ill Rikers' inmate, mayor de Blasio's criminal justice taskforce will address issues of mental illness and substance abuse at every stage of the criminal justice system, including proper discharge planning from jail to the community. He said “drop-off centers” will be created as alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness, with the first one to roll out in the fall of 2015 in upper Manhattan. These drop-off centers should offer an array of services to help keep our peers out of the justice system. As part of a comprehensive plan, corrections officers and police officers will receive training on “deescalation” and understanding behavioral health issues similar to what other states have been doing with good results.

Employment

The unemployment rate among people with serious mental illness is a staggering 90%. Dr. Belkin said his department funds 15 different employment programs and continues to advocate for more peer hiring. He said that in the future managed care environment, providers will be held accountable for improved employment outcomes and that peer services will be Medicaid reimbursable. He said an “RPC” or regional planning consortium will be created that brings advocates and stakeholder groups together to discuss issues of standardization, performance, service planning, and resource allocation.

Medicaid Managed Care

On the future of service delivery in a Medicaid, managed care environment (see “Medicaid Managed Care: Rising to the Challenge” by Briana Gilmore, Winter 2015 edition), Dr. Belkin said “HCBS” (home and community-based services) will be offered through the “HARP” (health and recovery plans) for individuals with significant health and behavioral health needs. Fully integrated dual advantage plans (FIDA)will be available for people with both Medicaid and Medicare who use community-based long-term care services.

Peer Jobs

There was a concern among those in attendance that peer workers who lacked a GED or high school diploma, which is currently required to become a certified peer specialist, would lose their jobs in this new billing environment, but Dr. Belkin assured us that not all services will be billable to Medicaid and some will continue to receive funding from the city. The smaller provider organizations will receive technical support to help them make the transition to Medicaid billing. He said he was unsure how many city contracts, if any, will be displaced by the shift to Medicaid billing.

Conclusion

Although Dr. Belkin and his senior staff were weary from a long day at the office, we were glad that they made it to the forum that evening. His liberal use of acronyms was a bit off-putting, but he did his best to explain some difficult concepts. The crowd seemed pleased with the event, but I was left wondering how much influence we would have on future policies that will affect our lives. Most of us don't even know how to speak the language that large bureaucracies use, let alone how to affect change within them. For those of us who do, I hope you step up to the plate and get involved. We desperately need representation with sensitivity, intelligence and strength.

Landmark Settlement for New York City Adult Home Residents

Landmark Settlement for New York City Adult Home Residents
By Jota Borgmann, Senior Staff Attorney, MFY Legal Services, Inc.
State to Fund At Least 2,000 Units of Supported Housing for Residents
On July 23, adult home residents in New York City reached a landmark settlement with the State of New York. The settlement ensures that thousands of residents of 23 large adult homes (see sidebar) will have the opportunity to live in their own homes with the services they need to succeed and be part of their communities.
The settlement follows nearly a decade of litigation in a related case, Disability Advocates, Inc. v. Paterson. The new case, O’Toole v. Cuomo, was brought by residents of three adult homes on behalf of approximately 4,000 residents citywide. The plaintiffs alleged that New York State unnecessarily segregates people with mental illness in adult homes in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “This case puts a face on people with mental illnesses and our struggle to be integrated back into the community at large,” said Plaintiff Steven Farrell, a resident of Oceanview Manor Home for Adults in Brooklyn. The settlement offers adult home residents “freedom and the ability to grow,” said Plaintiff Raymond O’Toole.
The State agreed to fund at least 2,000 units of supported housing for adult home residents, and more if needed. Every adult home resident who qualifies will have the choice to move to community housing within five years. Supported housing is an apartment in the community that comes with rent assistance and support services. Residents can live alone or with roommates if they choose. The support services may include visits from case managers or help with moving, healthcare, shopping, medication, or personal care.  
Many adult home residents are excited about finally having the opportunity to move out of adult homes and have more freedom and choice in their day-to-day lives. “I’m thrilled about this settlement,” said Plaintiff Ilona Spiegel. “At my adult home, they don’t do anything to inspire you or encourage you to move forward. I know how to take care of myself. I want to work my way back to independence.”
MFY Legal Services, Inc. represents the adult home residents with co-counsel from Disability Rights New York, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Urban Justice Center and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP.
Adult home residents in New York City who have questions about the settlement may call MFY toll-free at (877) 417-2427.

[Sidebar:]
The settlement will affect residents with serious mental illness living in these 23 adult homes:
Belle Harbor Manor
Brooklyn Adult Care Center
Central Assisted Living, LLC
Elm York LLC
Garden of Eden Home
Harbor Terrace Adult Home and Assisted Living
Kings Adult Care Center
Lakeside Manor Home for Adults
Mermaid Manor Home for Adults
New Gloria's Manor Home for Adults
New Haven Manor
Oceanview Manor Home for Adults
Park Inn Home
Parkview Home for Adults
Queens Adult Care Center
Riverdale Manor Home for Adults
Rockaway Manor HFA
S.S. Cosmas and Damian Adult Home
Sanford Home
Seaview Manor, LLC
Surf Manor Home for Adults
Surfside Manor Home for Adults
Wavecrest Home for Adults