At present, more than 12,000 families and about 23,000 children reside in New York City homeless shelters. New York City has built more affordable housing, has dispersed more rental vouchers, and has established more prevention programs than any other city in the country. So, why, after 30 years, do the number of families residing in shelters continue to grow?…
The Fall 2015 issue explores the technology gap between low-income students and their peers in “The Digital Divide;” describes the home visiting model of support for expectant and new parents in “Changing Lives with a Knock on the Door;” and shares how City of Refuge, a nonprofit in Atlanta, Georgia, is addressing the booming suburban poverty rate with innovation that includes culinary and automotive social enterprises in “Middle Class by Middle Age.”…
Publisher’s Note Dear Reader, Summer is the season that conjures up images of fun in the sun, vacations, and a break from school. But for homeless families—parents, young children, and college-age youth—this season can offer even more obstacles to overcome when school doors are closed and so are easy access to free meals, child care,…
The return of a policy to give some homeless families priority placement in New York City public housing has been hailed as a first step to ending family homelessness. With close to one in six families entering shelter from public housing, what impact will this policy actually have? There has been little discussion about the role of public housing as a feeder into the family shelter system. This policy brief examines the complex relationship between city policies and families entering shelter from public housing. …
Our Spring 2015 issue emphasizes the importance of programs and services that go beyond housing to support children and families experiencing poverty and homelessness. We look programs that offer at yoga, culinary and janitorial training programs, essential budget and life-skills training, and more for at-risk and homeless populations.
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As New York City becomes increasingly unaffordable and affordable housing becomes scarcer, working class communities are showing signs of vulnerability: growth in poverty, a decline in educational attainment, and overcrowding in rental units. This community profile examines the growing instability in one such community—Sunset Park, Brooklyn—which was the most overcrowded neighborhood and fourth most rent-burdened community in New York City in 2012, yet has seen few families turning to the shelter system.…
With the latest statistics showing that there are now nearly 1.3 million homeless students in the United States, focusing on education is more important than ever. In our Fall 2014 issue, we are excited to have education, for both children and adults, serve as the single unifying theme.…
Without safe and reliable care for their children, homeless parents cannot search for or sustain employment or access the job training, education, and other services essential to resolving their homelessness. Federal and state subsidized child care, designed to support low-income families’ self-sufficiency, should be a resource for these families.…
This brief presents a case study of Philadelphia’s experience with rapidly rehousing its homeless population between 2010 and 2012. It highlights the role of data collection and analysis in effectively using rapid-rehousing programs as part of a larger, comprehensive homeless-services effort.…
ICPH is dedicated to alleviating family poverty and homelessness through a multi-pronged approach, involving employment, education, and housing. We are excited about this issue of UNCENSORED, which includes articles with compelling ideas on all three fronts.…
In “Bringing Child Homelessness into Focus,” the internationally renowned photographer Craig Blankenhorn shares his work documenting homeless families across the country. “A Sweet Mission,” features the Yonkers-based Greyston Foundation, with its open-hiring policy for the Greyston Bakery and its programs to employ, train, support, and encourage struggling adults who are trying to provide for their children. These stories are just two components of our Spring issue, whose many perspectives on a growing problem offer a wealth of information, insights, and challenges.…
As gentrification spreads in parts of New York City and across the country, this policy brief looks at trends in three neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx—Washington Heights, Highbridge/Concourse, and Kingsbridge Heights—to better understand what poverty destabilization is and where and when it occurs.…