NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE HIGHLIGHTS CITY SHELTER POLICIES THAT HARM HOMELESS FAMILIES IN COUNCIL HEARING

 

The ongoing housing and homelessness crisis that has pervaded city shelters and streets has an outsized impact on New York’s families. As of March, 69% of people in shelters were members of homeless families, including nearly 50,000 children. At a hearing of the Committee on General Welfare, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams uplifted the challenges and harm created for families by onerous shelter policies, and said of the situation “It’s hard to see how we are viewing this as a success.” 

“It is our moral and legal duty to provide shelter to those experiencing homelessness, and we should all prioritize creating permanent, affordable, accessible housing for everyone who needs it,” argued Public Advocate Williams. “The current time limits set by this administration violate the spirit of our city’s long-standing right to shelter… While the administration says that the 30- and 60-day shelter limits for migrants have contributed to a cost reduction, the consequences of that decision do not outweigh the benefits: children displaced from their schools and communities just when they are settling into normalcy, people lined up overnight on the streets in freezing temperatures, anxiety, confusion.”

Public Advocate Williams also spoke out about the barriers presented by city policy requiring an entire family seeking shelter to travel to the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH) Center in the Bronx, lamenting that “This means that children will likely not be able to attend school that day, instead spending their day in transit and in waiting rooms. Families often wait hours for their appointments, and they are not allowed to bring in outside food. Many families receive a temporary overnight placement and must return the next day in the hopes of being placed in a longer-term shelter. Some families are deemed ineligible for shelter and must start the process over again.”

Council Member Diana Ayala, Chair of the Committee, sponsors legislation to address this issue by “precluding the department of homeless services from requiring a child's presence at an intake center when a family with children applies for shelter.” The bill was heard at the hearing.