“If Mayor de Blasio wants to learn from the City’s mistakes, he should ask homeless families and individuals what they need. My situation doesn’t apply for the current programs he’s created. I am not eligible to receive Temporary Assistance when I leave the shelter. I make too much for Food Stamps and Cash Assistance, but you need Cash Assistance to be eligible for many of the LINC programs. I am also in a private shelter, and most of the programs require you to be in a DHS shelter. We need a program without a welfare component, one that reflects the current times. We need an effective, permanent rental voucher.”
Ms. Lewis has been homeless sporadically for the past sixteen years, as a result of President Clinton’s welfare reform. She’s raised six children, all of whom have gone through homelessness – four adults and two still living at home. Currently proud to be working with Picture the Homeless on the Speakers Bureau. Formerly a member of Mothers on the Move and then Communuity Voices Heard. Union rep for DC1707, with an Associates degree from Borough of Manhattan Community College.