I have spent a decade of my professional career working for the Rochester & Monroe County YWCA providing shelter and supportive services to some of the most vulnerable women and children in our community.
It was an affair of the heart, but also a great challenge – both on a personal and financial level. Helping people in crisis situations is a high stress and traumatic environment, and while no one works in this field for the money, the fact is most of us are grossly underpaid.
Last September I left YWCA to take another job. It was a difficult decision. I stayed because I knew in my heart that my efforts—and those of my colleagues—were making a difference in people’s lives. In the end, I had to put my family first. I couldn’t keep living paycheck to paycheck to support myself and my child while doing this very challenging job.
The YWCA is unable to offer competitive salary and benefit packages in large part because a critical funding stream it depends on, the New York Supportive Housing Program, has not increased significantly since its inception 30 years ago. As a result, nearly 20,000 units across the state are on the verge of being unsustainable — just as the Hochul government has proposed to dramatically increase affordable housing production.
NYSHHP provides between US$2,600 and US$3,500 per year for single formerly homeless adults or families with children. By comparison, the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, launched in 2016 as the largest housing support commitment in history, pays about five times those rates — $12,500 per unit — for the same services.
This year’s state budget must raise NYSHHP rates to ESHHI levels if there is to be any hope of truly solving the dual homelessness and affordable housing crisis. Supportive housing is a proven tool to keep the chronically homeless off the streets and to make them successful in the long term. If we don’t get the units we currently have while creating new ones, we will be playing a continuous and never-ending game of catch-up.
And supportive living cannot possibly be successful without the service component that relies on human capital. Without the vital workers who work long hours in difficult conditions, residents are not given the time or attention they need to stay housed.
During my final years at the YWCA, we experienced a staff turnover of almost 50%. As Director, I also provided support and direct services because although we were dramatically understaffed, we had people who needed us and contracts to fill. I continued to provide direct services while I was expected to perform administrative tasks, deliver positive outcomes, and support my team.
We have difficulty filling Human Services positions because the reality is that fast food restaurants and large department stores pay more, on average, for less emotionally demanding work. Supportive homeworkers funded by NYSHHP grants are just a paycheck away from being in the same shoes as the formerly homeless people we serve. Many of us depend on public aid to make ends meet. Earlier in my career, I applied for an executive position, but had to turn down the raise because accepting it would not have made me eligible for Medicaid and childcare benefits—a coverage my family desperately needed.
I know that among my peers in social services, particularly those who work in social housing, I am not alone in trying to make ends meet. We want to be able to continue doing the work that we know makes a real difference in people’s lives. Unless the state makes the necessary investments in the programs we serve, many of us will not be financially able to continue down this path — and New York’s most vulnerable residents will suffer.
Maria Sharp is a seasoned support and human services professional in the Rochester area.