Aida Lugo spent a year and a half in and out of domestic violence shelters before she was offered Housing Stability Plus (HSP), the city’s rental subsidy program developed in 2004 due to a shortage of Section 8 vouchers.

The story of a 33-year-old woman with a 6-year-old son trapped in the HSP system.

Right now I’m employed by Picture The Homeless (PTH) as the Rental Subsidies Organizer, a campaign to get around changing New York City’s shelter & homeless policies. We focus attention on DHS, HRA, ACS in order to assure that the 34,000+ shelter residents and God only knows the number of street homeless are assisted with real housing – real housing. I came to this job through NYC shelter system. Picture The Homeless didn’t actually get me out of the shelter, they just showed me how to navigate the system.

8/3/07

I’m sad. I was pregnant when I went into the apartment I found with my HSP (Housing Stability Plus) voucher. First thing, half of the bathroom ceiling fell in. Then all the ceilings caved in. They were repaired a month later, but last week the ceiling caved in again, and had to be repaired again.

I need a larger apartment. I told HRA. They said okay, so I told the landlord [in order to get a bigger apartment in his building.] But he said “only if the rent arrears are paid!” HRA owes him back rent on my apartment.