A cactus rests by the windowsill, perched above eight large plastic bins packed with most of Karen McDonald s belongings.
The plant, McDonald said, brings her peace as she moves through a revolving door of homes. It s a symbol of survival in the transient and often unforgiving world of navigating homelessness in the Philadelphia suburbs.
In February, hope for a more permanent home came in a Housing Choice Voucher, what many consider the holy grail of subsidized housing. McDonald felt her days drifting through shelters, friends’ homes and cars would soon come to an end.
Yet, like many holding the same document, she soon learned that the federal safety net created to rescue people from homelessness and serve as a springboard to independent living holds little value in a competitive housing market, where landlords are not required to accept vouchers and, when they do, bureaucracy often stalls or derails their chances.
Healthiest Communities: How They Were Ranked U.S. News Staff
The Healthiest Communities rankings from U.S. News & World Report show how nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents perform in 84 metrics across 10 health and health-related categories.
The broad framework of categories and subcategories is based on factors key to evaluating community health that were identified by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics – a policy advisory board to the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – as part of its Measurement Framework for Community Health and Well-Being. U.S. News adapted the NCVHS model in consultation with leading population health experts, resulting most notably in the inclusion of an equity category.
This letter is in regard to the severe affordable housing shortage in the valley. I’ve lived in the valley for a little over eight years now, have a stable job in the hospital, and housing…
The bill would raise the value of city-backed housing subsidies for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. The voucher values currently trail actual market rents, making it hard for families to find a landlord willing to accept them.
Lavera Martino and her son Takai stood at a crosswalk and watched as Council Speaker Corey Johnson headed down Second Avenue in East Harlem Tuesday afternoon.
Johnson had just left a rally outside a family homeless shelter where he announced the council will vote Thursday on a long-awaited measure to raise the value of city-backed housing subsidies for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. The current voucher values trail actual market rents, making it hard for families to find a landlord willing to accept the subsidy, known as the CityFHEPS program.
“I’m literally in that predicament right now,” said Martino, 26. Her CityFHEPS voucher would cover a maximum rent of $1,323 a month, far less than the price of apartments she has seen. Raising the value, she said, “is the only way people can get out of shelter.”