CONTACT

Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org 

NY MAYORS AND ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES URGE GOV. TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR HOUSING ACCESS VOUCHER PROGRAM 

See Coverage in City & State Here

See Letter From Upstate Mayors Here, See Letter From NYCOM and NYSAC Here

NEW YORK — Today, local elected officials representing a variety of municipalities released a letter urging Governor Hochul to fund the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) to the full $250 million. The letter was signed by Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans, Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens, Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, Albany Mayor Dorcey L. Applyrs, and the New York State Conference of Mayors and the New York State Association of Counties.

As the letter outlines:

“The rental assistance distributed through this program is already allowing New Yorkers across the state to find permanent, stable homes. However, without increased funding for the program, the vouchers cannot go nearly as far as we need them to. In the crises exacerbated by federal cuts, well-funded solutions are scarce for people in search of homes, and many are at risk of losing the housing they have.” 

“When so many of our people in our city and communities are struggling in shelter systems, suffering trauma, eviction, and illness. This program just can’t reach as far as it needs to without real funding. We know that 62 vouchers for everyone in Monroe county isn’t enough. Across the state, it is not enough and the clock is ticking,” said Tracie Adams, Leader with VOCAL-NY Homelessness Union 

“In our community, families are doing everything right but still struggling to find safe, affordable, and quality housing that serves as a building block to upward mobility,” said Aqua Y. Porter, Executive Director of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative. “The state’s $50 million investment in the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) is an important start, but the allocation fails to address that reality or meet the full needs in our community or across the state. That is why Rochester City Council President Miguel Meléndez Jr. elevated this as a key recommendation in his homelessness report, and why Rochester Mayor Malik Evans has signed on to support a full $250 million allocation. We join them in calling on state lawmakers to meet the scale of the crisis and fund HAVP at the level our communities need.”

“In Kingston and across the Hudson Valley, where homelessness is worsening every day, the Housing Access Voucher Program is a no-brainer. Instead of continuing to spend huge sums of money on an ineffective, revolving door of short-term shelters and emergency motels, HAVP would finally help people access stable, permanent housing. We’re glad to see Mayor Steve Noble join the calls for a budget increase, a true win-win that offers long-term solutions to the housing crisis instead of another temporary bandaid,” said Xaver Kandler, Political Director at For the Many.

BACKGROUND:

In cities across New York, advocates are rallying alongside VOCAL-NY to demand that the legislature and Governor prioritize funding to end homelessness in the final state budget. The Housing Access Voucher Program is currently funded at $50M for the first year of the pilot.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual point-in-time survey, which estimated that more than 158,010 people across New York State experienced homelessness in 2024. Data from the NY State Technical and Educational Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS TEACHS) showed that over 155,000 children were homeless during the 2022-2023 school year – 35,000 of them living outside of NYC.

Homelessness is a growing problem, particularly amongst children upstate, as rural regions have seen a shocking rise in youth homelessness of more than 1000% from 2014-2024. The driving force behind these increases continues to be non-payment evictions, and rising housing costs have meant higher and higher income earners are winding up in rental arrears.

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