The Committee to End Homelessness by 2026– a coalition convened by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams of attorneys, housing specialists and directly impacted individuals– released a new report today aimed at providing a roadmap to end the city’s longstanding and systemic homelessness crisis over the next four years. The comprehensive report illustrates the root causes of homelessness, the issues within the current system, and what’s needed to safely house every New Yorker and end homelessness as New Yorkers experience it today by 2026.
“We're in a moment when the homelessness crisis is worsening, a wave of pending evictions threatens to worsen it, and homeless individuals are being targeted, demonized, and dehumanized,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “It’s incumbent on us to protect unhoused New Yorkers and ensure their swift transition out of shelters into permanent housing. Right now, as encampment sweeps continue in the five boroughs, the city’s doing this out of order. You can’t just tell homeless people to leave public spaces without having enough safe places for them to go. We have the tools to end homelessness as we know it in New York City by 2026, but we need the political will to prioritize truly helping unhoused New Yorkers, not just pushing them out of sight.”
The report, which comes during Homeless Rights Month, reimagines the New York City budget with the aim of transforming the current housing and shelter administrative agencies into a system that provides housing for all; describes a supportive, humane, and safe shelter system for people in crisis; and details a blueprint for transitioning from a system focused on temporary housing to a system that offers permanent housing solutions for all New Yorkers.
The report lays out a blueprint that is ambitious but not theoretical, and one that becomes more difficult the longer the city waits to act. It details the need for:
- Privacy and dignity in shelters instead of congregate settings
- On-site services for New Yorkers living in shelters
- Expanded resources to help those in shelters quickly access permanent housing
- Dramatic reductions in the amount of time people spend in shelters before accessing permanent housing
- Substantial financial investment in keeping New Yorkers in their homes
Homelessness is a direct result of a lack of regulated and unregulated housing; and as housing in the five boroughs grows even more affordable, this report demonstrates how New York City is entirely unprepared for a magnified housing and homelessness crisis. While the most effective solution to homelessness is to provide permanent, affordable housing, with support for those who need them, shelters are necessary to rapidly respond to those who need immediate assistance. Unfortunately, as the report details, New York City’s focus on expanding shelters rather than permanent housing has resulted in overcrowded shelters and a limited supply of affordable housing options.
Instead, the report calls on the city to improve its existing shelters so they best serve their residents’ needs, provide social services to housed New Yorkers to prevent homelessness, and build an abundance of permanent, affordable housing. Shelters must prepare their residents to transition back into permanent housing by providing healthcare, social workers, and other supportive services. After utilizing those resources, shelter residents then need permanent, safe, and affordable housing options. The city can and must also prevent homelessness in the first place by providing additional support to residents at-risk of homelessness.
In March of 2020, when there were more unhoused New Yorkers than at any other point in the city’s history, a group of organizations who service all aspects of homelessness came together on a mission to address and end the homelessness crisis in New York City. This report is the culmination of that work.
“Open Hearts is thrilled to contribute to the Committee to End Homelessness by 2026. This report tackles homelessness head-on by addressing root causes and laying the foundation for change. Our recommendations are based on countless interviews with directly impacted people, service providers, and advocates. Together they outline a powerful plan to end homelessness as a semi-permanent limbo and instead get people rapidly into housing, with shelters acting as an emergency transitional mechanism that cares for mental and physical health. This July, which is Homeless Rights Month, New York City must adopt these recommendations and stop the sweeps, fast-track housing, and provide shelter with privacy and dignity for all," said Corinne Low, Executive Director of the Open Hearts Initiative.
Read the full report on ending the homelessness crisis here.
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