July 2, 2024
Homelessness In NYC Surges Beyond Great Depression Levels
By John Myers
By Giannie Arana
New York City is declared as the city with the highest levels of homelessness in America. In 2023-2024 “homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930’s” according to the source, Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City, created in 2024 by the Coalition For The Homeless (CFTH) . The report mentions that vulnerable people seek help in shelters or public housing but cannot access these services because of overcrowding. With nowhere else to go, people end up roaming the streets or any public space in New York City.
Homelessness skyrocketed in 2023 as reported by the CFTH. “92,879 homeless people, including 33,399 homeless children, are sleeping each night in New York City’s main municipal shelter system”. The report mentions that homelessness amongst families is very common, and the primary cause is lack of affordable housing. “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” as the root triggers that lead them to being unhoused.
It has also been reported by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) that there has been outages on elevators, gas, heat, and hot water that has impacted over “28 buildings, 3,337 units, and over 8,039 residents.” This affects low-income families as they are not receiving quality housing. The majority of those impacted are Black and Hispanic, who are disproportionately affected by homelessness as “approximately 56 percent of heads of household in shelters are Black, 32 percent are Hispanic/Latinx”.
From the NYCHA, a source that wished to remain anonymous stated, “I was kicked out at 17 when it was the coldest in New York. I had no family that lived in the city, and I had nowhere else to go. I found shelter in the subway, but even then, the station was cold in the Bronx. Even though I was out in the streets for six months I never abused drugs, but I knew a lot of others who did, can’t blame them as it was the only way to survive.”
There is no accurate measurement of how many single unsheltered homeless adults there are, and recent surveys underestimate the current overpopulation. According to the CFTH, “single homeless people “have higher rates of serious mental illness, addiction disorders, and other severe health problems. Turning to substance abuse as homeless people are often on their own, traumatizes the human psyche and many people shy away from interacting with them because of the preconceived notion that they are dangerous or unapproachable.
Factors such as lack of affordable housing, systematic issues, and substance abuse have left the numbers of the homeless in New York City to have surged beyond Great Depression levels. The CFTH states, “New York’s legal Right to Shelter has given more than one million homeless New Yorkers a way off the streets,” and yet the problem persists.
