Program Highlight: Housing Advocacy Program

The Housing Advocacy Program is designed to assist youth and families who are experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness by locating and securing safe, affordable, and stable housing. Similarly, the Youth Housing Advocacy Program helps current and former foster youth achieve independence through housing subsidies provided by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), housing education, and housing advocacy.

Housing advocates guide persons served through the complicated process of navigating the local and statewide housing markets and housing authorities, as well as providing education on tenant rights and responsibilities and other housing-related matters. Youth served receive assistance with registering for post-secondary education, employment, assistance with clothing and work uniforms, assistance with transportation and basic furnishings for their new home. Families served receive case management services as well and financial assistance to meet their children’s basic needs, such as beds, dressers, clothing, and school supplies, to ensure they have necessities to maintain the family unit or regain custody of their children.

Success Story

A young, single mother whose children were living in foster care came to us living in a hotel without stable housing. She had faced difficulty finding housing due to past legal trouble and her low income. Within one month, with the help and support of her housing advocate, she was able to obtain a housing choice voucher through her local housing authority, which created the opportunity for her to afford stable housing on her limited income. Her new home was also in the district where her children were attending school and near her natural support system. Shortly thereafter, she obtained full-time employment and was approved to have her children returned to her care. During a recent home visit with her housing advocate, this young mother expressed how grateful she was for the help she received through NYAP’s Housing Advocacy Program, stating that her housing advocate “never gave up on us.” In just a year, she was successfully discharged from the program with stable housing, a full-time job reunited with her children, and everyone thriving.