Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

290 Amy E. Schwartz and Sharon Stapel
violence services are required to be compliant with the ADA. However, if
the potential resident requires intensive services, such as a personal care
assistant or has heightened medical needs, a domestic violence program
may not be able to provide for those more intensive needs and may have to
refer the resident for alternative supported housing. These individuals,
however, should be provided non-residential services, as requested. In 2006
in New York City, Barrier Free Living domestic violence program opened
Freedom House, an accessible domestic violence shelter specifically
intended to house domestic violence survivors with disabilities. This
shelter is the first of its kind in the US.
90. See generally Social Services Law § 131-u; 94 ADM-11 (June 22, 1994);
New York State Shelter regulations explicitly state that a person cannot be
excluded because of gender; instead, the shelters must accept anyone who
is a survivor if the shelters can provide separate living spaces. 02 INF-27
(Sept. 30, 2002).
91. Social Services Law § 131-u(2).
92. 18 NYCRR § 408.5.
93. Residents may not be eligible for reimbursement for their stays if they are
on durational sanctions, over-income, under sixteen, do not have qualifying
immigration status, or are not abused by a current or former intimate
partner.
94. See also 02 INF-27 (Sept. 30, 2002).
95. The first $90 of each month’s earned income must be disregarded, as must
a certain percentage (which changes each year, but is 43% in 2006) of the
remaining earned income. 18 NYCRR § 352.19.
96. 99 INF-10 (July 1, 1999).
97. In New York City, there are two parallel shelter systems. The larger
system, consisting of transitional shelters that include “overnight” beds,
conditional placements in hotels/motels, scattered site units and “Tier II”
shelters, serves over 9,000 homeless families at any given time and is
administered by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Families
with children under 21 years old or women who are pregnant and applying
for shelter must go to the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing
(PATH) Office in the Bronx at 346 Powers Avenue Bronx, NY 10454. The
Path Office is open daily, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., including holidays. Adult
families with no children under 21 must go to the Adult Family Intake
Center (AFIC), located at 29th Street and 1st Avenue, Manhattan, NY