(NewsNation) —The city of New York has given 150 migrant families up to $4,000 each to leave city shelters and move into permanent housing as part of a grant program using “leftover” city funds.
The program called Asylee Moveout Assistance was launched in December with little public exposure and attention and is modeled on a similar city grant program that provides up to $4,000 for residents of city shelters to help pay for moving costs called “enhanced one-shot deals,” reported Gothamist.
The one-time grants have been provided to asylum-seeking families and pregnant women who live at 62 emergency Department of Homeless Services shelters and have secured their own permanent housing, city spokesperson Neha Sharma told the outlet.
The funds are coming from “leftover” money from existing budgeted Department of Homeless Services contracts with nonprofit shelter operators, who also run the grant program, Sharma said, according to the outlet.
“The city continues to use every tool at its disposal to implement innovative solutions while creating fundamental resettlement supports for recently arrived asylum-seekers who may not be eligible for most federal and state-funded rehousing assistance,” Sharma said in a statement to the outlet.
“We look forward to supporting more households as we assess the successes of the pilot and feasibility of scaling up and expanding access to this form of assistance.”
The use of city funds comes as the city continues to grapple with high migrant populations. The city is housing about 65,000 migrants in shelters.
The city has accommodated more than 210,000 migrants, mostly asylum-seekers, and has spent more than $5 billion and an average of $372 per night for each household, Gothamist reported.
Qualifying migrants with housing ready can receive one-time grants of up to $4,000 to help pay for moving expenses, security deposits, first and last month’s rent, and other household supplies, the outlet reported.
Families receive up to $1,000 in gift cards for necessary household items, and moving companies, landlords and other merchants are paid directly, according to the city.
But the program also comes amid New York City facing existing high homeless populations among its own residents.
More than 350,000 people were without homes in NYC in June 2024 with 132,293 people sleeping each night in NYC shelters, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
Migrant crossings have dipped since President Joe Biden signed an executive order making it more challenging for migrants to seek asylum in the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has confirmed that unlawful crossings have gone down.