After a woman seeking asylum from Colombia lost her life earlier this week in a Queens shelter, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams inspected the facility Friday and called for reforms to the overburdened system which would improve conditions and help open up capacity, while strongly affirming the moral and legal “right to shelter” in New York City.
"Earlier this week, a young woman who came to this country seeking aid became a casualty of cruelty and political schemes, who was then placed into an overburdened and under-resourced system,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "While it’s clear that shelter staff are working with the resources they have to provide care, it’s also clear that the system citywide was not prepared for the level of need among New Yorkers even before the current arrivals of asylum seekers. The administration must provide the kind of transparency needed to ensure that New Yorkers in our shelters, including those who have just arrived seeking asylum and support, have what they need and deserve." He also further amplified the need for additional federal resources to support the city in addressing the drastic increase in need with the arrival of asylum seekers.
Following the inspection, the Public Advocate stressed the need to codify the rights of homeless individuals both in and outside of shelters by passing his Homeless Bill of Rights into law. The legislation, which was heard in the City Council earlier this month, would further codify and publicize the rights of individuals to access legal, translation and educational services, access shelters. It would also codifies the rights of people in shelters to:
Leave and return to the shelter outside of curfew hours and request early and late passes
Participate in recreational activities
Be placed in a room with a person who identifies as the same gender
Have a private room with a lock for families experiencing homelessness
Have secure locker for single adults experiencing homelessness
Have access to bathrooms
Have access to washing machines and dryers or to money for laundry
Have access to space and equipment to bathe and change babies and small children
Have access to meals and accommodations for dietary needs and restrictions
Public Advocate Williams also emphasized the need to open capacity in the shelter system by more expeditiously moving New Yorkers into deeply affordable housing, the true solution to the homelessness crisis. He reiterated the goals and strategies of his July report with the Committee to End Homelessness by 2026, which 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
Responding to the administration’s newly announced plan to temporarily house asylum seekers in large tents, or Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, the Public Advocate again highlighted the need to uphold the right to shelter, to meet the standards set forth in the proposed Homeless Bill of Rights, and questioned whether these temporary structures could meet those requirements. He urged the administration to provide more details to government partners and to the public about this proposal before putting it into action.
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