The state of New York has a constitutional obligation to provide aid, care, and support for its needy residents. However, this promise is being broken, as the state’s welfare system is failing to keep up with the soaring costs of housing.
For the fourth time in nearly 40 years, New York is facing a lawsuit for its inadequate welfare assistance. The Legal Aid Society and Empire Justice Center have filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s shelter allowance is woefully insufficient to cover the cost of rent, even for modest private housing.
The Shelter Allowance Crisis
The shelter allowance, which is meant to help impoverished families and individuals cover the cost of housing, has not been raised in decades. For families with children, the allowance has been stuck at $450 per month since 2003. For adult-only households, the allowance has barely changed since 1988.
Minerva Pacumio, a 54-year-old plaintiff in the lawsuit, receives a mere $250 per month to cover her $1,900 rent in Queens. She lives with her two adult daughters, one of whom is disabled and requires constant care. Pacumio is facing eviction and owes thousands in back rent.
The lack of adequate housing assistance is pushing people toward an emergency shelter system that is already overwhelmed. Nearly half of the state’s unhoused families and individuals outside of New york city are placed in hotels with minimal support to help them return to permanent housing.
The Political Roadblock
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the agency responsible for setting shelter allowances, has responded to past calls for an increase by saying the Legislature would have to allocate more funding in the state budget. However, the budget is already projected to run multibillion-dollar deficits in coming years.
State lawmakers have sponsored bills that would have pinned the allowance to fair market rent, but these bills have repeatedly failed. Sponsors say little will change without the governor’s backing. The office of Gov. Kathy Hochul did not respond to requests for comment.
A History of Failure
This is not the first time the state has been sued for failing to provide enough welfare assistance for rent. In the late 1980s, the Legal Aid Society filed a landmark case on behalf of Barbara Jiggetts, a single mother of three who was struggling to cover her rent with a $270 monthly allowance.
The court ordered the state to temporarily cover rent for New York City families with children facing eviction until the establishment of a lawful shelter allowance. However, the state waited until 2003 to raise the shelter allowance, blowing past the court’s original deadline by five years.
The new lawsuit seeks either an increase in the shelter allowance or a mandatory expansion of the supplement statewide, regardless of household composition, or both.
As it stands, people poor enough to qualify for public assistance find themselves in a cruel Dickensian or Kafka-esque situation. The shelter allowance is too low to allow them to afford even a modest place, but under the rules, recipients may have their benefits cut if they stop looking.
Kimberly Maldonado, a plaintiff in the new lawsuit, receives $215 a month to help cover $1,114 in rent. She does not qualify for a state supplement because she does not have minor children and receives no other financial assistance for housing from the state.
The lawsuit highlights the urgent need for reform in New York’s welfare system to ensure that all residents have access to adequate housing.
