More than 12,000New Yorkers could face homelessness by the end of the year as emergencyhousing vouchers created during the pandemic begin disappearing, leaving vulnerable families scrambling for answers in an already impossible housing market.
Among them is LaShawn Smith, a New York City mother who says the looming loss of her housing voucher has left her emotionally exhausted and terrified about what comes next.
“It’s emotionally draining,” Smith said in an interview with ABC 7 Eyewitness News. “And this is just going to make it worse for us if we don’t have somewhere to live.”
According to nonprofit advocates with the New York Housing Conference, more than 5,200 families across the city are losing Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs), a federal rental assistanceprogram established by Congress in 2021 to help individuals and families at risk of homelessness…