Homeless In New York City: It’s More Than Not Having A Place to Live

by Father Richard F. Gorman, Chairman, CB #12

The issue of homeless in the City of New York is as perplexing as it is profuse, as complex as it is copious.  It is not my intention in this column to layout a complex as it is copious.  It is not my intent in this column to define an all-encompassing or comprehensive analysis of the homeless issue and the steps needed to solve it.  It is my objective, though, to put forward some observations and suggestions that might assist in leading us out of the seemingly intractable morass that this problem has become.

To give you an idea of how colossal and complicated homelessness in the City of New York is, I share these ten (10) “BASIC FACTS” about it, courtesy of our friends in The New York City Coalition for the Homeless:

1. In recent years, homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
2. As of September 2014, there were an all-time record fifty-eight thousand fifty-six (58,056) homeless people, including thirteen thousand nine hundred twenty-two (13,922) homeless families with twenty-four thousand six hundred (24,631) homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system.  Families comprise nearly four-fifths of the homeless shelter population.
3. Over the course of last year, more than one hundred eleven thousand (111,000) different homeless men, women, and children slept in the New York City Municipal Shelter System.  This includes more than forty thousand (40,000) different homeless New York City children.
4. The number of homeless New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters is now eighty-seven percent (87%) higher than in January 2002, when former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg initially took office.
5. Research shows that the primary cause of homelessness, particularly among families, is lack of affordable housing. Surveys of homeless families have identified the following major immediate, triggering causes of homelessness: eviction; doubled-up or severely overcrowded housing; domestic violence; job loss; and hazardous housing conditions.
6. Research shows that, compared to homeless families, homeless single adults have much higher rates of serious mental illness, addiction disorders, and other severe health problems.
7. Each night thousands of unsheltered homeless people sleep on New York City streets, in the subway system, and in other public spaces.  There is no accurate measurement of New York City’s unsheltered homeless population, and recent municipal surveys significantly underestimate the number of unsheltered homeless New Yorkers.
8. Studies show that the large majority of street homeless New Yorkers are people living with mental illness or other severe health problems.  Four (4) out of five (5) street homeless New Yorkers are men.
9. As in other American cities, New York City’s unsheltered homeless population is concentrated in the central business district  —  i.e., Midtown Manhattan.  Surveys show that nearly sixty percent (60%) of New York City’s unsheltered homeless population is in the Borough of Manhattan.

10. African-American and Latino New Yorkers are disproportionately affected by homelessness. Approximately fifty-seven percent (57%) of New York City homeless shelter residents are African-American, thirty-one percent (31%) are Latino, eight percent (8%) are white, approximately one percent (1%) are Asian-American, and four percent (4%) are of unknown race/ethnicity.

This above-mentioned statistics coalesce into a portrait more disturbing than any forbidding painting by William Blake, Francis Bacon, or Francisco Goya.  Such is not the case because our homeless sisters and brothers are scary, but because the escalating dimensions, perplexing complexity, and obdurate persistence of their plight is daunting, to say the least.  Something has to be done, if not out of moral conviction and love of neighbor, than in trepidation of legal prosecution and judicial decree.  So what is an allegedly humane, tolerant, open-minded, compassionate and civil society supposed to do for those without homes and shelter?  Such is the query that will be addressed in a subsequent column.

Until next time, that is it for this time!