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A Youth-Centered Housing Policy Agenda for New York City
A home is a fundamental need we all share. Beyond a place to rest our heads, housing provides a respite where we can be ourselves, decompress, and plan for our futures. For young people, housing is also essential for a successful transition to adulthood. Safe and stable housing improves health outcomes and enables young people to pursue an education, employment, and grow into their roles in their communities. Yet housing in New York City is costly and hard to find, especially for youth who are just starting out. In 2022, median rent in the city was equivalent to almost 40 percent of income for New Yorkers under age 25. Renters must also pay the upfront costs of first and last month’s rent and security deposits, making it hard for many young people to afford a place to live, especially those who live paycheck to paycheck and have little to no savings.
While housing assistance programs exist to help renters afford housing, these supports are difficult to access and do not guarantee housing, much less housing that is safe or healthy. For example, tens of thousands of New Yorkers are on the waitlist for federal Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and demand is so high that no new applications for vouchers have been accepted in 15 years. In the words of one CARES Ambassador, “generational wealth in our community is [passing down] Section 8 housing vouchers.” The city’s separate local voucher program CityFHEPs (NYC Fighting Homelessness Eviction Prevention Supplement) is also strained and unavailable to many.
Additionally, due to discrimination, redlining, and community disinvestment, even those who have housing assistance still face challenges leasing a suitable rental unit free from physical hazards, in neighborhoods that are safe and offer the amenities young people need (e.g., access to public transportation, grocery stores and other conveniences, walkable, etc.). While these challenges affect New Yorkers of all ages, young people are hit especially hard because they have little to no experience with the housing market or in navigating a complicated bureaucracy on their own. These challenges are also particularly acute for young people aging out of foster care, those who identify as LGBTQIA+, and youth of color, leading to high rates of homelessness and housing instability for these young people.
In our conversations with CARES Ambassadors in New York City, they shared their desire for a better landscape of housing supports, one that respects their journeys toward independence and recognizes their “full decision making power.” They want services that are available outside of the child welfare system and responsive to their diverse needs as young adults, particularly as young Black and brown people who have experienced foster care. With housing costs and general living expenses skyrocketing, Ambassadors dream of living “financially free” in housing they can afford in a “safe community.” They want good housing they can rely on and feel safe in as they pursue their goals and launch their futures. In the following policy agenda, CARES Ambassadors share their vision for how young people should experience housing in New York City, as well as their priorities for how to achieve this vision.