Record levels of homelessness in New York City

Homeless Veteran in Times Square

New York - There is a high chance that you will come across a homeless person during your walk throughout the streets of New York. That is because homelessness in New York City has reached record levels not seen since the Great Depression. According to the Coalition for the Homeless 2016 State of the Homeless report, a comprehensive look at homelessness in New York City, the city is at near-record levels of homeless people.

"New York City has begun to make some initial progress in combatting record homelessness, but the crisis is simply too deep and too many years in the making to solve without a full partner in Albany," said Mary Brosnahan, President and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless.

Key State of the Homeless Findings:

• A near-record number of individuals and families still sleep in New York City homeless shelters each night—more than 60,400 people, including 24,000 children.
• Homelessness, which soared during Mayor Bloomberg's final years in office largely due to his elimination of housing placements and programs, continues to be fueled by rising rents and stagnant wages: Median rents in low-income neighborhoods shot up 26% between 2010 and 2014, while real median household income fell 7%.
• City efforts are having an effect for homeless families: Permanent housing placements for homeless families soared in FY2015 and the number of families applying for shelter declined, due in part to increased homelessness prevention programs, like increased legal services and eviction prevention efforts.
• The number of family members in shelter has declined by 5% over the past year, but this number masks the effect of family move outs, as the number of families found eligible for shelter increased in FY2015.
• The number of homeless single adults remains at record highs and continues to increase, with over 14,000 single men and women sleeping in New York City shelters each night, underscoring the urgent need to quickly create more supportive housing units.

The Coalition for the Homeless offered the following to help tackle homelessness in New York City:

• Tell the state leaders to keep their promise for 6,000 units of supportive housing (learn more)
• Volunteer at a shelter or food program (learn more)
• View responses of how to basic questions about what to do when they see a homeless person, click here

For more information about The Coalition for the Homeless visit their website: http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/

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