The City: A Majority of VOA-GNY Clients Are Inelgible For CityFHEPS

Dr. Jeffrey R. Ginsburg, President and CEO of VOA-GNY, spoke to The City about the need to expand eligibility for CityFHEPS, NYC’s housing voucher program that helps people in shelters secure permanent housing. About two-thirds of our clients are ineligible due to their income and won’t qualify unless Mayor Mamdani adjusts the city budget.

“When we are more housed, we are more successful,” Ginsburg said. “This is an issue we know the mayor cares about in making a more affordable city. Without the expanding of the voucher system, that will not happen.”

The majority of the 600 families and individuals living in our seven shelters don’t quality because they work either too much or too little. In order to qualify for the voucher, individuals can earn up to $31,920 or $66,000 for a family of four.

“People have to find a way to somehow meet a very narrow criteria to gain access to a voucher,” Ginsburg said. “At the simplest level, we have this idea that we want people to work, but we don’t want them to make too much money. 

Read the full article at The City.