New York Homelessness Program Shuts Out Some Battered Women

BuzzFeed - A new city program offers to pay rent for homeless families — but domestic violence survivors who have full-time jobs aren’t eligible. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Lucas Jackson / Reuters One recent evening at a domestic violence shelter, a mother of two opened a letter from the city of New York about a brand-new program that helps homeless families pay the rent. After 20 months in shelters, the mother thought she might have a chance to finally get a permanent apartment. "I had my hopes up," said the mother, who BuzzFeed News is not naming because she is still in hiding from her abuser. But when she met with city officials, she was told she didn't qualify. The reason: She has a job. New York's new program that provides rent subsidies to the city's homeless shuts out battered women who are employed. Due to a bureaucratic morass, women in the city's domestic violence shelter system are only eligible for the program if they are on public assistance. This c