Ralph da Costa Nunez distorts the City's successful experience in assisting those in shelter in getting jobs and its efforts to return families to the community, even without a rental subsidy.
In April, the state of New York eliminated funding for the Advantage rental subsidy program, forcing the City to cancel its innovative program that linked getting and keeping a job with the opportunity to obtain a rental subsidy. New York City fought vigorously to maintain this $150 million investment in shelter families -- against efforts by advocacy groups to kill it -- because it worked. With Advantage, more shelter residents than ever went to work and achieved independence in the community, and the overwhelming number did not return to shelter even when the subsidy period ended.
Despite Mr. da Costa Nunez's accounts, we have continued to make progress in recent months in reducing the number of families in shelter. In fact, the family shelter census is lower today than it was when the Advantage program ended.
At the same time we are seeing a decline in the shelter system, we are also seeing an unprecedented drop in demand. The number of applicants for shelter has fallen 15 percent since Advantage ended, compared to a year ago. This spring and summer we have seen the fewest applicants for shelter since 2008.
Further contrary to assertions by Mr. da Costa Nunez, shelter families have shown they can and want to go to work and are doing so in record numbers. In the first six months of this year over 5,000 shelter residents have gone to work and while like some people who start jobs they have difficulties, close to 70 percent who left cash assistance for jobs have not returned to welfare a year later.
National research over the past decade disputes Nunez's position. Dr. Dennis Culhane from the University of Pennsylvania and the country's other leading researchers on homelessness have not found any evidence that service intensity and longer stays in shelter improve housing outcomes for families.
Our strong emphasis on employment combined with an urgency to move out of shelter is showing positive results. We have more to do but the answer is not to stay in shelter longer. Families want to be self-sufficient and have shown their ability to gain employment and succeed outside of the system and we should support them in their success, not design a program which fosters longer stays in shelter and dependence.