Posted on 01/05/2005 7:28:24 PM PST by Ellesu
We live in a society where cash comes before being human
Dear Socialist Worker, I am a single woman, currently unemployed, with a home-based business that is barely bringing in any income. I have always supported myself by working in nightclub industries as a promoter and makeup artist, and writing resumes (my business).
In September, when I was about five-and-a-half months pregnant, I could no longer work in the nightclub industry, which was 90 percent of my income and allowed me to afford my rent and pay most of my bills. I tried to look for a job, but a lot of places would not hire me because of my pregnancy.
I fell three months behind on my rent--about $3,300. I have lived in my apartment for seven-and-a-half years and have always paid the rent. My landlord recently gave me an eviction letter asking me to come up with the money or leave in three days. I wrote a letter explaining that I was due to give birth and, as of January 1, would be back to work and caught up.
I explained and apologized for any inconvenience that I may have caused. But he and his lawyer went ahead and started the eviction process.
I am at my lowest low. I cry every night because I have no support. The social service people said they will not provide any rental assistance because my rent is too high. But my rent is standard for a New York City apartment in a decent neighborhood.
I just can’t believe that in this country, there are people made homeless everyday, and that the law will allow a landlord or a judge or a lawyer to evict a pregnant woman and contribute to homelessness.
I could understand if I was working and refusing to pay rent. Then I would think that was the right action to take on his part. But I am showing an effort to pay, and I have a good reason.
It is sad that we live in a society where cash comes before being human. It is sad that we live in society that contributes to homelessness because someone has suffered a financial crisis or major setback.
I have called every charity in my area. Most of them tell me they have no funds or don’t provide funds. I called a lawyer to assist me in court. I explained that I am getting evicted, and all he could say to me is “I could represent you for $600.” I just told this man that I am being evicted--that means I have no money.
I was not able to afford an attorney, and the landlord got the upper hand. I was given the “choice” of coming up with almost $6,000 by February 28--that will include January and February rent and the back rent I owe. I have to start making a payment in the next 20 days of $500. If I am a day late, they will send the marshal to evict me. So, I am basically still in the same position.
I have been to the charities that I was told to go to. A lot of them say there is no money. The Salvation Army said they could only give me $600, but that is only if I could show them proof that I can come up with the rest. I tried to get a one-shot deal, but they said I needed to have a job to qualify to show how I will pay them back. If I had money and a job I would not be going to them! They made no sense.
We have billions to use for war, but no help or funds for individuals in need. It is sad that we call ourselves the richest country in the world. We are the poorest, because of our poor sense of humanity. Anonymous, New York City
In some other city, maybe, but not NYC. Its not happening, to put some perspective on this, NYC actually has squatters rights, which is basically breaking and entering and living there.
If I have a vacant apartment, and somone moves in, I actually have to go to court to move them out if I don't catch them quick enough.
I'd like to know how, once the baby is born, this mother is returning to work. And the letter is written on 7 Jan, and she was due on 1 Jan? Who is going to care for this baby? A nightclub is no place for an infant because of smoke and noises too loud for a babies ears. What is the purpose of this social worker website? All that is sought are donations via an email address?
None of this makes sense to me. What is clear, is another reminder seems warranted about watching the profanity, please. Thank you.
Q. Can the Red Cross help me? I am homeless due to a fire/building collapse.
A. People who have become homeless due to disasters such as fires or building collapse may contact our Emergency Services department at 1-877-REDCROSS for assistance.
Q. Can the Red Cross help me? I am homeless and a senior.
A. Seniors who have become homeless may contact our Social Services department at 1-877-REDCROSS for assistance. For list of Social Services programs that the Red Cross offers, click here.
Q. Can the Red Cross help me? I am homeless and single.
A. Single adults who are applying for shelter should contact one of the following intake (or "assessment") shelters administered by the NYC Department of Homeless Services.
Men's assessment shelters: 30th Street (Bellevue) (212) 481-0778
Atlantic Avenue Armory (718) 636-3908
Charles R. Gay (Ward's Island) (212) 369-8900
Women's assessment shelters: Jamaica Armory (718) 262-1450
Brooklyn (718) 495-7870
Q. Can the Red Cross help me? I am homeless and part of a family.
A. Families in New York City who are homeless are entitled to emergency shelter. The Emergency Family Center and Family Respite Center are part of the network of 60 non-profit facilities that provide shelter on behalf of the City of New York. The American Red Cross cannot accept families directly into our two temporary facilities, the Emergency Family Center and or Family Respite Center. Families who are in need of shelter must contact their local Income Support Center, for screening and referral to the Emergency Assistance Unit (EAU). If the family qualifies for placement in emergency housing, the EAU will refer the family to a Tier II facility.
Q. Where is the nearest Income Support Center?
A. Monday - Friday, 8-5:
Call (718) 291-1900 for the address of the nearest Income Support Center to be screened and referred to the EAU.
Evenings, Weekends and Holidays:
Call the Emergency Hotline at (800) 994-6494 to be screened and referred to the EAU.
Q. Is any homeless person eligible for placement in the facilities run by the American Red Cross?
A. No, the Emergency Family Center and Family Respite Center only serve families defined as a woman with one or more children, or a pregnant woman. EFC and FRC cannot serve families with more than three children or any children over 10 years of age.
Q. I am about to be evicted. What can I do?
A. If you’ve received a 72-hour notice from the NYC Housing Court, then you should return to the Court. Obtain and complete the Order To Show Cause form indicating why you should remain in your home. For further assistance, please call our Social Service department at 1-877-REDCROSS.
If you are about to be evicted, due to the inability to acquire funds (by the date on a court stipulation) we may be able to assist you. For immediate assistance, please call our Social Service department at 1-877-REDCROSS.
Otherwise, we offer the following referrals:
Staff members from the City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc are available to answer brief questions and can be reached at (212) 982-5512 or (212) 962-4795.
In addition, the City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc. staffs information tables in each of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens Housing Courts, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. In Staten Island, the information table is open on Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. The information is free and available to all un-represented litigants.
Civil Court Info Line has recorded information about the Housing Court in English and Spanish (24 hours a day) at (212) 791-6000.
People with low incomes may be eligible for free legal services. To get the address of the office that serves your local community, contact The Legal Aid Society at (212) 577-3300 or Legal Services of New York City at (212) 431-7200.
If you have more questions about our homeless services, please call 1-877-REDCROSS ext. 2050 or submit your question via e-mail by clicking here.
I apologize for my language. Will not happen again and Thank You.
A variety of government agencies and non-profit organizations provide support to those who have fallen behind on rent.
JIGGETTS FOR FAMILIES
If you are on public assistance, you may be eligible to receive a monthly rental supplement (in addition to your shelter allowance) and have some, or all, of your rental arrears paid through a relief system called Jiggetts. In order to be eligible for this supplement, you must:
be a recipient of family assistance; and
have a child under the age of 18 at home, OR under 19, in high school, and at home; and
be in court because you are being sued for back rent.
To learn more, contact one of the legal services or community-based organizations approved by the State of New York to handle Jiggetts applications.
For a list of these services or community-based organizations, please visit LawHelp.org
For more information on Jiggetts, you can also visit LawHelp.org and look under the “Know Your Rights” heading.
RENTAL ARREARS GRANTS FOR SINGLE ADULTS AND FAMILIES
The NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) can assist tenants who have legal possession of an apartment, or applicants who have been evicted but whose landlords are willing to re-let the apartment, by paying their arrears through a rental arrears grant. Grants are available for both public assistance recipients and for those ineligible for public assistance. Families and single adults are eligible.
Dial 311 to contact the HRA Job Center in your area and apply for a rental arrears grant.
If you are a low-income New Yorker in danger of losing your housing because of an eviction, there are many organizations that can assist you with legal representation, social services, and information about your rights.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
The LawHelp website provides family and single adult tenants with a list of non-profit legal services providers that offer representation for those facing eviction. Providers are available to represent clients with the following issues:
Eviction proceedings
Private Housing
Public Housing & Publicly Subsidized Housing
Foreclosure, Predatory Lending & Home Loans
Housing Discrimination
Jiggetts or other forms of rental assistance
Rent Regulation/SCRIE Problems
Apartment Repairs
Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Housing
Tenant Group Representation
The website is equipped with a zip-code locator so you can find an organization that serves your neighborhood.
SOCIAL SERVICES
The LawHelp website provides family and single adult tenants with a list of social services agencies and other resources that can help families maintain stability and avoid eviction. Services provided by these agencies include:
Tenant/landlord conflict resolution
Education on a tenant’s rights and responsibilities
Community-based financial counseling, debt consolidation, credit reports
Help with forming a community block association
INFORMATION ABOUT HOUSING COURT
The LawHelp website provides family and single adult tenants with a wide variety of brochures and informational pamphlets to help demystify the Housing Court process. Examples of materials on the website include:
Information on Housing Court procedures, including what to expect on your first day, and the different ways your case may be resolved
A guide on how to serve court papers, including papers to start a case for repairs or to stop an eviction
A summary of the rules and procedures involving military service and evictions
Information on how public assistance can help you with rent arrears
Top ten mistakes tenants make in housing court
>>>If I have a vacant apartment, and somone moves in, I actually have to go to court to move them out if I don't catch them quick enough.<<<
Wow!! Now that is stunning! Don't know why anyone would want to invest in NYC.
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A DHS guiding principle states that that all homeless individuals and families deserve safe, temporary shelter and that planning for permanent housing should begin immediately. The City provides shelter to families that have no permanent or temporary place to live.
Who Is Eligible
Where To Go
What To Bring, What Not To Bring
What To Expect
*Update*
The Section 8 and public housing priorities are no longer available in the family shelter system. A new rental assistance program, Housing Stability Plus, is now available for families on public assistance. If you are currently in shelter, speak to your housing specialist for more information.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE (back to top )
Families with safe and appropriate places to stay will not be determined eligible for shelter services. You may instead be able to qualify for one of the many homelessness prevention programs that assist families in retaining their existing housing. If you are already homeless and preventive assistance cannot help you keep your existing housing, DHS will provide temporary emergency shelter in a safe environment. Before being placed in shelter, however, your family must be found eligible.
In order for you and your family to be found eligible, DHS must verify that your family is in immediate need of temporary emergency shelter. DHS will conduct an investigation to determine whether there is any other safe and appropriate place for you and your family to stay, even temporarily. To aid the investigation, you should provide any documents that will help investigators understand why you are now homeless. Examples include: eviction papers, marshal’s 72-hour notices, letters from landlords or managing agents, letters from people you used to live with, and documents from doctors or other professionals showing that a former apartment may no longer be appropriate.
To be found eligible for emergency housing assistance, you and your family must already be receiving, or apply for, public assistance. HRA’s Eligibility Processing Unit is located at the intake center, and will help your family apply.
DHS defines a family as: 1) legally married couples with or without children; 2) single parents with children; 3) pregnant women; and 4) unmarried couples, with or without children, who have cohabited for a substantial period of time and demonstrate a need to be sheltered together.
WHERE TO GO (back to top)
Please read this section carefully – depending on your family situation, you must go to one of three family intake centers.
Single pregnant women and families with children under 21 years old who have never applied for shelter must go (in-person) to the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (Path) Office in the Bronx. The Path Office is open Monday through Friday, 9a.m – 5p.m. and Saturday from 9a.m. to 2p.m. The office is closed on Sunday.
Families who are re-applying for shelter or families who are applying for the first time but need to apply after Path office hours must go to the Emergency Assistance Unit (EAU), also located in the Bronx.
Adult families with no children under 21 must go to the Adult Family Intake Center (AFIC), located in Manhattan. The EAU and AFIC are open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Single Pregnant Women and Families with Children Under 21 Who are Applying for Shelter for the First Time
Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (Path) Office
346 Powers Avenue
Bronx, NY 10454
Mon – Friday, 9a.m. -5p.m.
Saturday, 9a.m. – 2p.m.
Sunday, Closed
Directions:
Subway: Take the number 6 train to the CYPRESS AVENUE stop. When you get off the train you will be on 138th Street between Jackson and Cypress Avenues. Walk one block west to CYPRESS Avenue. Turn RIGHT on CYPRESS Avenue and walk NORTH to 141st Street. Turn RIGHT onto 141st Street. Walk on 141st Street until you get to POWERS Avenue. Turn Left onto POWERS Avenue and look for #346. The Path Office will be on the RIGHT side of the street.
Bus: Take the No. 33 bus to 138th St. and Cypress Ave. When you get off the bus you will be on 138th Street between Jackson and Cypress Avenues. Walk one block WEST to CYPRESS Avenue. Turn RIGHT on CYPRESS Avenue and walk NORTH to 141st Street. Turn RIGHT onto 141st Street. Walk on 141st Street until you get to POWERS Avenue. Turn Left onto POWERS Avenue and look for #346. The Path Office will be on the RIGHT side of the street. Or take the Bx17 bus to Southern Blvd. and East 141st St. Walk three blocks WEST to POWERS AVENUE. Turn RIGHT onto POWERS Avenue and look for #346. The PATH office will be on the RIGHT side of the street.
Single Pregnant Women and Families with Children Under 21 Who are Re-Applying for Shelter or Who are Applying After Path Office Hours
Emergency Assistance Unit
151 East 151st Street
(on the corner of 151st Street and Walton Avenue)
Bronx, NY 10455
Directions:
Take the 2, 4, or 5 subway to the 149th and Grand Concourse Street Station. Walk two blocks on the Grand Concourse to 151st Street. Make a left and proceed to the intersection of 151st and Walton. The EAU is a one-story brick building on the corner.
Adult Families with No Children Under 21
Adult Family Intake Center (AFIC)
29th Street and 1st Avenue
Manhattan, NY 10016
Directions:
Take the 6 subway to 28th Street station. Walk east to 1st Avenue and turn left heading north to 29th street. Walk up the ramp to the AFIC entrance. By bus, you can take the M15 to 29th Street.
Dial 311 for more information.
WHAT TO BRING (back to top)
You should be aware of the paperwork you need to bring to the EAU for the emergency shelter application process. DHS will make copies of all documents you provide and return the originals to you.
You will need to have identification, such as a welfare ID card, green card, driver’s license, passport/visa, or picture employment card. If you do not have a picture ID, you can generally use a birth certificate, social security card, Medicaid card, identity card in the public assistance system, or a pay stub to prove your identity.
In order to show that your household constitutes a family, you must:
Show that the adults in your family are listed as parent(s) on the child(ren)’s birth certificates, OR
Have legal custody of the child(ren), OR
Have filed in court or with the Department of Health for paternity, OR
Have documentation that the adults are legally married, and at least one adult is the child(ren)’s parent or guardian, OR
Show that the adults in the family have lived together for a substantial period of time and have a medical or other compelling reason why they need to live together, OR
Show a city-issued domestic partnership certificate as evidence and have lived together for at least six months.
It is also helpful to bring the following if you have it:
Eviction papers or Marshall’s Notice
Proof of residence for the past 2 years
Leases
Con Edison or Telephone Bill
Pay stub, or proof of income
Do not bring:
Any contraband, alcohol, or illegal substances (smoking is not allowed in the EAU);
Expensive personal belongings (DHS is not responsible for lost or damaged goods);
Friends and visitors, or anyone not a part of your family; and/or
Food;
Furniture;
Appliances; and/or
Pets.
WHAT TO EXPECT (back to top)
If your family is found eligible, you will be placed in temporary emergency housing. Shelters are run by non-profit and other organizations.
When in shelter, all clients will be expected to follow certain guidelines, which include:
Following your family’s Independent Living Plan (ILP), which includes the steps you will need to follow to get permanent housing;
Applying for public assistance or another type of housing subsidy;
Working closely with your caseworker or housing specialist to locate and view available apartments;
Actively seeking permanent housing for you and your family by viewing available apartments several times per week;
Accepting a suitable apartment for you and your family when it is offered to you; and
Following shelter guidelines that prohibit behavior that places other clients and staff at risk.
Failing to stick to these rules may have serious consequences. By working closely with shelter staff and following these and other rules, the City of New York will assist you in quickly moving from shelter to permanent housing.
Return to top
You can call DHS' Office of Client Advocacy toll free at 1-800-994-6494, or you may be connected through 311.
The Office of Client Advocacy was established in June 2002. The office assists clients by working in partnership with DHS staff, provider organizations and other agencies. The Office is now staffed with eight advocates. Calls received over the weekend or after hours will be returned the following business day.
We encourage clients to first work with caseworkers or shelter staff to resolve individual issues. Client advocates are available to assist in resolving outstanding issues. Advocates assist clients in the following ways:
Providing crisis intervention for people at risk of becoming homeless;
Assisting clients to overcome the barriers to obtaining permanent housing;
Negotiating with other agencies and providers on behalf of the clients; and
Helping mediate conflicts between shelter staff and clients.
The Office of Advocacy is active in policy discussions within DHS and is a strong, effective voice advocating systemic reform on behalf of the clients.
Cindy, folks can wind up in bad situations, but it's clear this woman broke several cardinal rules. If you make your living on your looks, you can't take risks until you can afford to support yourself for months of time off.
She hasn't explained anything so that we can come to any other conclusiong than that she was careless. The burden is on her to tell a story folks can understand and sympathize with.
btw, I watched "Kitty Foyle" last night. Ginger gets pregnant during her short-lived marriage and decides to have the baby and raise it herself. No whining back then. Love that movie!
WHAT ??? YOU made your decisions and your choices, YOU chose to have a child By leaving the option open, YOU chose not to be married, You chose some guy who doesn't want to be around OR even a dad, YOU chose the path you have gone down, YOUR choices are your REAL problems and now your child will inherit the by-products of your Irresponsible CHOICES.
WELL DONE.
YOU had your fun, YOU did what you wanted, YOU chose this life, and NOW "life" call's and want's you to pay up.
A tough "bill" to pay when your morally & responsibly Bankrupt.
SORRY, can't help you- I GAVE at the office.
The entire story stinks to high heaven! It's made up garbage!
Was she raped?
But then there are also those folks that seek to muddy the waters...to keep those that seek to help from those that need help...
I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of truth and goodness...
Is that where you are? If so, don't stay there...come to the other side...there are friends there who will help.
I agree. SHE did.
I find it hillarious that this supposed woman has enough dime to have internet access, that is unless she wrote the letter using the libraries computers, but not enough to afford her rent? Boy, talk about missplaced priorities.
Yep. Just like all the mom's on welfare who are obese.
Oh my.......that's a GREAT movie!
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