The number of homeless people staying overnight in New York City shelters reached a dismal record of 53,615 in January, a new study has found, prompting advocates to press Mayor Bill de Blasio to follow through on promises to undo policies that they say drove the city’s homeless population to skyrocket in the first place.
Last year was the first time the number of homeless people sleeping each night in shelters exceeded 50,000. This year’s annual report by the Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit advocacy group, is worse: Newly homeless families entering the system increased by 12 percent; the number of homeless children sleeping in shelters rose by 8 percent, and single adults, 5 percent. The average stay for families with children stretched into 14.5 months, another record, according to the report, to be released Wednesday.
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“The administration and all New Yorkers understand this really is the turning point,” Ms. Brosnahan said in an interview. “The focus on housing is going to turn the tide.”
Mr. de Blasio, for whom homelessness prevention was a focus from his earliest days in City Council, has close ties to and enjoys strong support from Ms. Brosnahan and other advocates. The Coalition for the Homeless, which has a history of fighting Mr. de Blasio’s predecessors, praised him in an open letter on its website after his election in November, and it applauds his administration’s early initiatives in the new report, even as it scathingly criticizes former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for the current state of homelessness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/n...-on-policies.html?action=click&module=Search&
Last year was the first time the number of homeless people sleeping each night in shelters exceeded 50,000. This year’s annual report by the Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit advocacy group, is worse: Newly homeless families entering the system increased by 12 percent; the number of homeless children sleeping in shelters rose by 8 percent, and single adults, 5 percent. The average stay for families with children stretched into 14.5 months, another record, according to the report, to be released Wednesday.
Continue reading the main storyRELATED COVERAGE
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“The administration and all New Yorkers understand this really is the turning point,” Ms. Brosnahan said in an interview. “The focus on housing is going to turn the tide.”
Mr. de Blasio, for whom homelessness prevention was a focus from his earliest days in City Council, has close ties to and enjoys strong support from Ms. Brosnahan and other advocates. The Coalition for the Homeless, which has a history of fighting Mr. de Blasio’s predecessors, praised him in an open letter on its website after his election in November, and it applauds his administration’s early initiatives in the new report, even as it scathingly criticizes former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for the current state of homelessness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/n...-on-policies.html?action=click&module=Search&
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