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?…
School absences are pervasive across New York City. Almost one in five New York City public school elementary students (19%) were chronically absent in SY 2013-14, missing 20 days or more of school. Worse, homeless elementary students were chronically absent at roughly twice the rate of elementary students overall. This report examines the disparities in absenteeism and its impact on educational achievement, comparing homeless students and their housed peers, regardless of family income level.…
In a single, comprehensive resource, the American Almanac of Family Homelessness identifies and analyzes key issues surrounding homelessness among families with children, examines state strategies, and illustrates the impact of public policies on family homelessness across the country.…
Homelessness is now so pervasive in New York City that it directly affects roughly one out of every 13 public school children. Over 83,000 students enrolled in city public schools in school year (SY) 2013–14 were identified as homeless. More than half of those 83,000 homeless students are living doubled up in someone else’s apartment due to loss of housing or economic hardship. This brief examines the growth in doubled-up students across the boroughs between SY 2010–11 and SY 2012–13 and the significance it has for city policies.…
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. …
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.…
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.…
During school year 2012-13 there were over 80,000 homeless students in New York City’s public school system, a 60% increase in just six years. This new policy report looks at the academic and behavioral challenges facing these students, as well as the impact of homelessness on their performance in school and their probable outcomes by 12th grade and beyond.…
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.…
October 2013 Homelessness is an issue that many New Yorkers are forced to confront every day—from passing a homeless person on the sidewalk or subway to facing homelessness themselves. A basic awareness of the growing crisis is unavoidable. But in a city as large and economically diverse as New York, it stands to reason that…
September 2013 Except where noted, all data refer to the 2010–11 school year. Homelessness is experienced by thousands of students in New York City. 71,271 students were homeless during the 2011–12 school year (SY), 40% more than four years earlier.1 6.9% of all students were homeless during SY 2011–12, three times the national rate and…