Shams DaBaron aka "Da Homeless Hero" Responds to Housing Our Neighbors With Dignity Act: "Housing Saves Lives"

NEW YORK, NY (08/13/2021) (readMedia)-- Governor Cuomo signed the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA) today, which will provide a mechanism for the state to purchase unused hotels and commercial properties for conversion to affordable housing. 50% of the units in buildings funded by HONDA will go to people who have experienced homelessness.

"I've been homeless off and on since I was ten, but today I'm finally housed. My goal is to see the same for the masses of people who remain unhoused, and the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act gets us one step closer to that goal. It's a huge win for homeless New Yorkers. We need to move away from congregate shelters, which will never solve homelessness, and toward solutions like this that prioritize stable and permanent housing. Stable, permanent housing saves lives," said Shams DaBaron aka "Da Homeless Hero," formerly homeless activist and finalist for The David Prize.

"HONDA is a huge, important step toward ending homelessness in New York, which exploded under Governor Cuomo's leadership. After working with homeless New Yorkers on the upper west side for the last year, we've seen what a difference dignified housing makes in a person's life. We hope that as she steps into her new role as Governor, Lieutenant Governor Hochul will sign the state FHEPS bill to get even more homeless New Yorkers into stable housing, extend the eviction moratorium, and enforce safety guidelines to protect those who are living in congregate shelters whose lives are currently hanging in the balance as the Delta variant surges," said Corinne Low, co-founder of UWS Open Hearts and professor at Wharton.