My son, Christopher, is a beautiful boy with epilepsy and profound autism – but our apartment has changed ownership, we have to move out, and new affordable housing that can keep a family like ours together while still meeting Christopher's special needs has been impossible to find. We will be at a homeless shelter intake office by the end of the month. Will you help fix the system so no other families go through this?
Autistic people have special needs, but while New York has good affordable housing for single adults with disabilities, it’s a struggle to keep a family together. When times get tough, families shouldn’t have to split apart or exhaust their savings just to take care of their loved ones -- yet there isn’t enough emergency family housing and the process makes no sense for what little does exist. The affordable housing applications don’t even ask about disability needs, we can’t apply for the shelters until we’re already homeless, and some of the bureaucrats I’ve met don’t even understand their own system!
I will accept a shelter because we have no other place to go, but I’m going to make sure change comes from it - this system is insane, and no other family should have to go through this!
New York City officials need to hear from you: Tell them America’s biggest city needs more emergency housing and affordable housing for families of children with developmental disabilities, and applications need to ask about special needs! We need to make a change NOW!
New York State and New York City have been leaders in providing affordable housing to adults with developmental disabilities. It is time to provide this same care to families of children and adult children with developmental disabilities such as autism. When times get tough, families shouldn’t have to split apart or exhaust their savings just to take care of their loved ones. In addition to the massive backlog, affordable housing applications don’t even ask if applicants have developmental disabilities, meaning there is no way to know if the applicant requires special needs or should be given extra attention. Please create more emergency housing and affordable housing for families of children with developmental disabilities, and simplify the process for obtaining this housing!
Update #29 years ago
Hi everyone! A quick update: My son and I are are now in a shelter. We are ok but this is just the beginning of what I anticipate to be a long road out of homelessness. The good news is that Chris has been able to keep going to his day program. There is a new target to the petition, Councilman Mark Levine, whose office assures me he is looking into the legislation this petition requests. This is great news, but we're not finished - please share this petition with everyone you know! Thank you!
Update #19 years ago
Thank you for signing this petition! It means so much to so many families. We just sent over 6,000 signatures to housing leaders in New York and beyond, and we'll let you know what they say! In the meantime, please keep the signatures coming - a constant drumbeat will let our leaders know that this is a housing crisis that isn't going away until they take action, so we won't go away either. Will you share this petition with your friends and family via email and Facebook today?
