New York City’s Shelter Repair Squad is making a difference

New York City continues to grapple with a homelessness crisis of daunting scale. But over the past few months, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks and hardworking employees across city agencies have been tackling key challenges with redoubled vigor and focus. And the positive effects are being felt by shelter providers like Win.

An oft-ignored component of the city’s renewed effort is the Shelter Repair Squad 2.0, a rapid-response unit that is cutting across multiple levels of government to improve living conditions for New Yorkers living in shelter.

Launched on New Year’s Day, the Repair Squad is already making a difference for shelter residents across the five boroughs, including many of the 5,400 women and children who are Win clients. At Win’s Junius Street Family Residence in Brooklyn, the Repair Squad has painted and improved dozens of units to ensure that families are living in spaces that are safe, clean and well cared-for. And at Win's Liberty Family Residence, the Repair Squad has stepped up to tile the laundry and refuse rooms – from floor to ceiling – which will make it easier for us to keep the spaces tidy and rodent-free. Repairs and improvements like this are a smart investment that will save the city money over the longer-term.

On top of making repairs at the shelters Win operates, the Repair Squad is also making improvements to city-owned buildings where Win delivers critical support services for the homeless, including income building and substance abuse counseling. 

What may appear to be small fixes make a huge difference in the lives of our clients. In the past, repair requests frequently got lost in the city’s Byzantine bureaucracy. Multiple agencies – Homeless Services, Housing Preservation and Development, Health and Mental Hygiene, Buildings and the Fire Department – had overlapping and often contradictory roles to play. The Repair Squad is an innovative breakthrough that allows issues to get addressed right away, quickly and efficiently, rather than wrapped in red tape.

The city has a long way to go to remedy years of disinvestment in nonprofit shelters. But the Repair Squad is an inspired and important step in the right direction and I give full credit to Mayor de Blasio.

To help homeless families achieve independence, break the cycle of homelessness and tap the well of dignity inside all of us, they need a safe, clean, and supportive place to stay when they enter the shelter system. Shelters should be a respite from living on the streets – a warm, secure place where homeless women and their children can rebuild their lives. The success of the Repair Squad 2.0 shows that the mayor understands the imperative to improve shelter conditions, and that he is hard at work to make a lasting difference in the lives of homeless families.

Christine Quinn is the president and CEO of Win and the former New York City Council speaker.