State Helps Open Transitional Housing for Homeless Youth in Yonkers

 

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance today announced the opening of a $3.2 million housing development for homeless youth in Yonkers. The Bruce Avenue Youth (BAY) House, operated by Westhab, Inc., provides four units and 16 beds of transitional housing for young adults, ages 18-24.

Governor Cuomo has made addressing homelessness a priority and projects like this will go a long way to assist those efforts,” said Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Samuel D. Roberts. “As we tackle this problem, it is particularly important that we help address the needs of young people who find themselves homeless at a time when they are just starting out in their adult lives. We are proud to partner with Westhab and thank them for their ongoing commitment to housing homeless New Yorkers.”

BAY House is an attractive, quality, and safe place for these young adults to call home," said Westhab President & CEO Richard Nightingale. “But more than that, BAY represents an opportunity for these young people to get back on track with education, employment, and other goals so that they can transition to independent living and self-sufficiency. Westhab is grateful to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance who believes in this important work and has made a major investment in these young people's success."

In addition to a safe and secure place to live, the BAY House will provide services to youth that help them develop the skills necessary to become independent, productive adults with the goal of moving into permanent housing.

The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP) provided 100 percent of the capital funding for this project. Over the years, HHAP has provided capital funding for a wide range of housing types for various homeless special needs populations.

As part of the second phase of the Governor’s historic $20 billion five-year plan for the creation or preservation of 100,000 affordable and 6,000 supportive housing units, three State agencies have made available more than $650 million in capital funding and $30 million in service and operating funding for supportive housing. The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is currently accepting proposals for $63 million in HHAP funding. Additionally, New York Homes and Community Renewal and the Office of Mental Health have each released Requests for Proposals to distribute the remaining funding. 

Source: The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance