| Releases & Statements
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today charged the Bloomberg Administration with undermining one of the City’s most effective anti-hunger programs, the New York City Hunger Hotline. An investigation by her office determined that the system, which the Human Resources Administration (HRA) took over from City Harvest and automated in April 2003, provides inaccurate and insufficient information much of the time.
“When City Harvest was managing the hotline, callers could expect knowledgeable, comprehensive service,” Gotbaum said. “Now they have to put up with long waits for information that’s out of date, incomplete, or just plain wrong. Is this the new and improved service HRA promised?”
Gotbaum released the nineteen-page report at a news conference on the steps of City Hall, Monday, May 24 at 11:00 AM .
Representatives of the Office of the Public Advocate placed 167 calls to the hotline from November 13 through December 12, 2003 , and from March 1 through 5, 2004. They found the following:
* Clients cannot depend on the hotline to provide accurate office hours for emergency food programs. In 45% of calls made, the hotline provided incorrect hours of operation. Hotline information is only updated twice a month, not daily, as promised by HRA.
* The hotline does not provide necessary information. 68% of programs require that clients bring specific documents. The hotline does not provide this information, putting clients at risk of being turned away.
* Wait time for a live operator is long. Callers waited an average of 18 minutes to speak to a live operator, with the shortest wait time 8 minutes and the longest 38 minutes.
* The hotline is not effective during evening and weekend hours. O f the 15 calls placed outside of regular business hours, none resulted in a referral to a program that was open that day.
“Whenever the Bloomberg Administration is looking to cut corners, it’s the most vulnerable New Yorkers who seem to get hurt,” Gotbaum said.
"The old service worked for 23 years. Live operators not only gave you all the information you needed, they made appointments for you at a pantry in your neighborhood."
HRA claimed they could make this system better by automating it. They promised daily updates and twenty-four-seven service in six languages. Instead, they're sending hungry New Yorkers on a wild goose chase.
Enough’s enough. The Mayor should restore live service immediately.”
“One of the biggest deficiencies of the HRA hunger hotline is that it still gives people the false impression they can’t use food stamps in an emergency,” said Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. “The fact is, federal law requires that food stamps be provided to people with little or no money within a few days. The hotline needs to make it much clearer that food stamps should be the first, not the last, line of defense against hunger for struggling families.”
Bill Ayres, Executive Director of World Hunger Year and founder of the Hunger Hotline, joined Gotbaum and Berg. He said the following:
“As a founder of the New York City Hunger Hotline in 1978, I am saddened by the loss of live, caring people answering the phones with accurate, helpful information. Over the years, the hotline has connected many hundreds of thousands of people to emergency food in their time of dire need and then helped them to apply for food stamps and other government food and poverty programs. Those services are needed now more than ever. I hope the Mayor will agree to upgrade the services of the present hotline.”
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