Poor families to get more help with rent from New York state

New York

IN a settlement that could help thousands of families avoid eviction, New York state will substantially increase the monthly rent subsidies it provides to low-income families with children in New York City, a move that could help reduce the number of people in homeless shelters.

The public assistance programme, known as the Family Eviction Prevention Supplement, has remained flat since it was established in 2004, even as rents have skyrocketed. Under the settlement, a family of three eligible for US$850 per month, for example, would now be eligible for US$1,515, a 78 per c…