N.Y. SOS Law § 49

§ 49. Definitions. For the purposes of this title, the following terms\nshall have the following meanings:\n 1. "Homeless" shall mean an undomiciled household which is unable to\nsecure permanent and habitable housing without special assistance, as\ndetermined by the commissioner, including but not limited to households\ntemporarily residing in emergency shelters, transitional facilities,\nhotels/motels, or substandard conditions.\n 2. "Household" shall mean a single individual or family, including\ncouples without dependent children who, or which, are eligible to\nreceive public assistance.\n 3. "Eligible applicant" shall mean local social services districts or\nnot-for-profit corporations serving homeless and at-risk households.\n 4. "At-risk" shall mean a household threatened with homelessness and\nthose with a history of frequent moves.\n 5. "Homelessness intervention services" shall mean services which are\ndesigned to stabilize at-risk and homeless households by avoiding\nhomelessness or assisting households to secure permanent and habitable\nhousing. Such services may include, but need not be limited to the\nfollowing:\n (a) services to resolve conflicts between landlords and tenants and to\nfacilitate fair and workable solutions;\n (b) legal services to households threatened with the loss of their\nhomes through eviction, harassment or other means;\n (c) tenant activities to educate households in the areas of tenant\nrights and responsibilities, and to organize tenants to remedy housing\nproblems such as code violations, landlord abandonment and harassment;\n (d) benefits/entitlements advocacy to ensure that households are\nreceiving all federal, state and local benefits to which they are\nentitled, such as temporary assistance to needy families, safety net\nassistance, food stamps, supplemental security income, rent security\ndeposits, furniture and household moving expenses;\n (e) relocation assistance which provides for the identification of and\nreferral to permanent and habitable housing, transportation services,\nlandlord/tenant lease negotiation services and assistance in\nestablishing utility services; and\n (f) the provision of or referral to support services designed to\nstabilize households in permanent and habitable housing including\nservices related to substance abuse, domestic violence, housekeeping,\nbudgeting, education, day care, employment, parenting, mental health,\nphysical health, and such other services deemed necessary by the office\nof temporary and disability assistance. Service provided to homeless\nhouseholds pursuant to this paragraph must be provided for a period of\nat least six months beginning the first day of the month following the\nmonth in which such household secured permanent housing.\n