The Legal Aid Society expressed strong support for a new City Council bill that would make it easier for young New Yorkers without shelter to get rental assistance, as reported by THE CITY.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Stephen Levin and Deborah Rose, would require the Department of Social Services to count time spent in youth shelters when determining eligibility for rental assistance. Getting credit for time spent in youth facilities means 18-21-year-olds can avoid entry into the already crowded adult shelter system, effectively restarting the process of getting a housing voucher.

“There has been quite literally no other access to any kind of rental assistance for runaway and homeless youth, really ever,” said Beth Hofmeister, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society’s Homeless Rights Project.

“This would be the first kind of permanent access to rental assistance programming that would exist for runaway and homeless youth, which has been so desperately needed,” she said.