Homelessness in NYC

About a decade (and two lifetimes) ago, I worked in homeless services, doing street outreach and housing placement with chronically street homeless individuals in midtown Manhattan. I was part of a small nonprofit that eventually won the contract to do outreach throughout the city; I left soon thereafter. I haven't lived in NYC since 2012 and don't go in with any regularity.

I've been reading lots of articles lately about how there's a new homeless "epidemic" in NYC. Those of you who are there regularly--have you noticed this?

I am completely out of the loop with what homeless services are and what the standards are now (like any low-paying, high stress job where it seems like you are getting absolutely nowhere, none of the people I worked with back then are involved with NYC homeless services anymore). We all gave blood, sweat, and tears and there WAS finally a decrease in street homelessness after we had been established for awhile... It was an incredibly thankless job, but it just feels extra sad to know that any strides we made a few years ago have been erased. I'd just be interested to see what people are seeing day-to-day on the streets in NYC and if you've noticed a big increase in homelessness...thanks for any input.

No idea about statistics, but this just appeared on the NYT's site.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/06/nyregion/07homeless-in-new-york-city.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Well, this is pretty sobering:

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/the-catastrophe-of-homelessness/facts-about-homelessness/

https://a071-hope.nyc.gov/hope/statistics.aspx

Including the article which Dave posted, the Times has had a lot of coverage of homeless people, people living in unregulated half-way and "three-quarter" houses, and people who are falling behind because they are in and out of jail, often because they cannot afford bail for charges which are minor or where they are innocent, so a small incident escalates into a life-changing event.

Respectfully, I don't think the typical commuter or visitor is going to have a broad perspective of everything going on, and less so outside of Manhattan.

That's why some of us are posting links to statistics. Anecdotal evidence and personal observation are not without merit, but they are not the whole story by a long shot.

The OP was asking specifically for people's personal observations.

I know regular commuters won't have a broad idea of what's going on -- even working in homeless services there's no real way to know what's going on (our organization is the one that started the Hope count, but we were relatively unaware of what was happening with the shelter population since we were tasked to only work with people who had been on the street for over a year and refused shelter).

It's just that I'm seeing SO many articles all of a sudden about it (as evidenced by the replies to this thread) but don't know why it's suddenly such a big deal that journalists are paying attention--I assume it's because of more "visible" homeless on the street, rather than the shelter population increasing. My husband has changed jobs and locations a couple of times in the past two years so he can't say whether there's a big increase for sure, since he hasn't been going to the same location all the time. Anecdotally he feels like he's encountering way more people on the street, but it could just be his new location.

When I did outreach in Times Square there were definitely ebbs and flows in who you saw on the street -- there were always a lot of guys out in the summer, so I wonder if this "homeless epidemic" is just a result of the weather and it will be less in January....OR, if there's something about the policies that have caused a big spike. But like I said, I'm unaware of what some of the more recent policies are. I can read up on articles and stats all day, but I'm just curious as to whether Joe Everyman has noticed a change on the streets.

In the last year or so, I have noticed a substantial increase in homeless individuals in Penn Station and on my walk to/from Times Square on 7th and 8th Avenues.

PetuniaBird said:
In the last year or so, I have noticed a substantial increase in homeless individuals in Penn Station and on my walk to/from Times Square on 7th and 8th Avenues.

According to LilMissLL this as well as many more in Lower Manhattan where there use to be very few.

I walk from Penn to 42nd every day (for the past 7 yrs). Over the past 2 yrs it seems that there are many more homeless people on the streets, especially the younger ones with different signs. I wonder if some of these younger kids are leftovers from occupy Wall St. Each time I pass them, I wonder if it's a kid who really is homeless or looking to get cash . It's sad that you have to think like that these days but growing up in the City will tend to sharpen your street smarts. Regardless, it makes me unhappy to see this in the streets every day..... Peace! JL

As a recent NYC commuter after a long break of working in NJ, I was surprised by how many homeless people I see on the way in (Wall St area). Does anyone know if there reliable organizations I can contribute to to help? I can't see giving money to all of the people I pass, but would like to support an organization working to help.

jmc said:
As a recent NYC commuter after a long break of working in NJ, I was surprised by how many homeless people I see on the way in (Wall St area). Does anyone know if there reliable organizations I can contribute to to help? I can't see giving money to all of the people I pass, but would like to support an organization working to help.

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/

apple44 said:
The OP was asking specifically for people's personal observations.

I know, but the statistics can go a long way to back up those observations.

The increase has been very noticeable around Penn Station and in the Chelsea/Flation areas this summer. Hard to walk a block without seeing at least one clearly homeless person sitting or lying on each side of the street. It was also noticeable in the Gramercy area last fall before weather got cold, though there was less media chatter at that time. There also seems to be an increase in parts of the Upper East Side, especially along Lexington Avenue. It is not clear that the deBlasio administration had a handle on this until very recently and still not clear how effectively it will deal with it. The degree of destitution visible in the streets reminds me very much of the worst of the early 1990s, approaching the point where it does not feel as safe to be in the city as it did in the Giuliani/Bloomberg days, and there seems to be much more possibility of negative and potentially violent or dangerous interactions among homeless people or between homeless people and passersby.

jmc said:
As a recent NYC commuter after a long break of working in NJ, I was surprised by how many homeless people I see on the way in (Wall St area). Does anyone know if there reliable organizations I can contribute to to help? I can't see giving money to all of the people I pass, but would like to support an organization working to help.

Just before I left the organization I worked with around 2008, they had set up a citywide system where if you saw someone on the street who clearly needed help, you could call 311 and get an outreach team dispatched to them immediately; in theory the team would probably already know who the person was, but they could talk with them and get services to them if necessary. About a year after I left I tried to use the 311 system to get help for a guy in my neighborhood who I had never seen before, but he was screaming at people on the street and was looking really rough. It was a huge headache to get in touch with an actual outreach team.

It's, in theory, an option in case you see someone you think really needs help, in addition to donating to charities. I have no idea if it's still in place. If it is, I hope they've streamlined the process.

Homelessness has been a serious problem in NYC for quite some time. I remember when the New York City Department of Homeless Services was created to try and combat the problem; but, my impression is that they were never very successful in finding the path to a solution.

One difficulty is finding acceptable housing for the homeless. Public Housing units are filled with waiting lists that can result in a person having to wait years if not decades before they are reached. Subsidized housing units are too few to meet the need that is out there. "Welfare hotels" are an expensive and unsatisfactory means of dealing with the problem for a great many reasons. Shelters are perceived by the homeless population as being dangerous places to be avoided, often with good reason.

Outreach programs can't be much more than a band-aid approach if the resources don't exist to offer more than temporary assistance. Cuts in employment programs mental health service availability, and programs designed to teach the homeless how to live in an apartment are woefully inadequate to meet the pressing need. The downturn in the economy in recent years hasn't helped either. It is no wonder that we are seeing a rise in the visible homeless. It will take a dedicated effort backed by an intelligent use of available resources to turn this around.

apple44 said:
The OP was asking specifically for people's personal observations.

I would around the Grand Central area and have been commenting to colleagues for the last year or so that the homeless population really seems to have boomed. Just my observation on a few square blocks, but I'd say it's at least doubled in the last year in that area.

There was a news segment on this last week ( sorry- I don't remember exactly who or when). They said the # of homeless was at an all-time high. Worse than 20 yrs ago. Afa, if you worked with the homeless 8-10 hrs ago, you came in after the problem was somewhat better. I think it was at its worst around 20 or 25 yrs ago. But worse today- I think they estimated 30,000 homeless in NYC right now.

I commute from Penn to Times Square daily and my observation is that there is a new uniformity to some of the street people I encounter, and it puzzles me. (I lived in the city during the Koch, Dinkins and Giuliani administrations.)

I'm seeing many more well-clothed, reasonably-groomed young people in their late teens and early 20s, typically one per block, each holding a sign written in Sharpie on a piece of a cardboard box. There is one young woman in particular I notice most days. She is often on a corner near Penn at 8 and still there at 8 or 9 p.m.

These people aren't threatening or in any way dangerous-looking. They aren't the crowd outside the 35th Street McDonalds. I wonder what kind of services are available to them, and whether they would be receptive. And I worry what will happen when the weather turns cold.

Back in December of 2013, the New York Times profiled a homeless child, Dasani, in a special feature. In just one example, the feature illustrated the seemingly impossible hurdles that the homeless encounter, to say nothing of the terrible impact on children.

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/invisible-child/#/?chapt=1

There definitely seems to be an upswing in homeless folks. But it's also the profile of the homeless that seems different than in past year... Many are younger, seem healthier (they come across as if they ran out of money backpacking). Certainly in midtown between Penn Station until Grand Central, the makeup also seems whiter. Many have cardboard signs. One lady with a baby in a pram even approached people waiting in the NJ Transit waiting area in Penn Station asking for handouts.

I'm sure there are serious reasons many are homeless, but often one can't help but feel skeptical because many look reasonably able-bodied (even somewhat well-dressed).

Mental illness looks very able bodied and can dress very, very well

Here is a Times article from last week about the way Mayor de Blasio is addressing the problem (or not, depending on your point of view). The top photograph captures the phenomenon I've noticed in Midtown in the last year or so. (One difference is that there is much more overt begging than I've seen in the recent past, including on the trains and subways.)

After Playing Down a Homeless Crisis, Mayor de Blasio Changes His Tone http://nyti.ms/1UlBnwe

yellowgato said:
There definitely seems to be an upswing in homeless folks. But it's also the profile of the homeless that seems different than in past year... Many are younger, seem healthier (they come across as if they ran out of money backpacking). Certainly in midtown between Penn Station until Grand Central, the makeup also seems whiter. Many have cardboard signs. One lady with a baby in a pram even approached people waiting in the NJ Transit waiting area in Penn Station asking for handouts.
I'm sure there are serious reasons many are homeless, but often one can't help but feel skeptical because many look reasonably able-bodied (even somewhat well-dressed).

There is definitely an uptick in this type of homelessness - often self referred to as travelers. Unfortunatley I think many are in the early stages of bottoming out on herion.

My role at my organization is to develop supportive and permanent housing for homeless families, individuals and other subjects groups. Takes forever and we cannot solve homelessness 25, 50, 60 apartments at a time. If we as a society decided that homelessness was unacceptable we could effectively end it quickly. But we don't really care that much.

I live in the West Village in Manhattan. There are several people who live in fixed spots on sidewalks. I wish we could help them. I don't know what to do other than to give them what they ask for when they ask. I got a takeout dinner for myself one night. On the way home, a man asked him for help getting something to eat, so I gave him my dinner. He thanked me. Then I went and bought a replacement dinner for myself.

We have been watching a tv show called "Home Free," produced by Mike Holmes, who became famous as a ruthless home inspector who would renovate houses that had been badly damaged by unscrupulous contractors, leaving homeowners without the resources to get a more reputable contractor to make much-needed repairs.

In the new show, couples compete to totally renovate run-down houses, with the idea that the last couple standing will get the house of their dreams. The twist to the show is that every couple who was chosen to compete gets one of the homes the competitors have renovated. It has been gut-wrenching to see each couple in turn break down in tears when they realize they have, in fact, "won."

The thing I find amazing and distressing about the show is that many if not most of the competitors are able-bodied folks who want to work and support themselves, but have lost their jobs, have no family or don't want to lean on them, and have nowhere to live. Some of the couples in the show were terrified of losing, because they had nothing to return to if they didn't win the whole competition and the house at the end of the rainbow.

My point is that these days, it is surprising how many people who want to work and can work are not able to find a job that will sustain them. I don't think it's all junkies, alcoholics, or the mentally ill. In fact, I'd be very interested to know how the profile of the average homeless person is changing, if it is.

I think the instance of mental illness in conjunction with homelessness has always been very high. That's not to say all people who are homeless are mentally ill but it is a large proportion out of whack with overall instance of mental illness. Back when I was closer to this, I think the figures ran about 1/3 of homeless were mentally ill compared to about 5% of the general population but this was 20 years ago so not sure now. I think the needs are so varied- the mentally ill need medical attention (but often don't want it), the people you describe above just need some help and resources to get back on their feet like job search help, child care, low-cost housing and then the third group are drug addicts who need a totally different type of help.

Hold on.

There are 60k homeless in NYC. The city spends about $1B a year on homeless services. How is that possible? Am I doing the math wrong? That's like 16 grand a person.

RobB said:
Hold on.
There are 60k homeless in NYC. The city spends about $1B a year on homeless services. How is that possible? Am I doing the math wrong? That's like 16 grand a person.

My understanding is that there is an average of 60K homeless in NYC on any given day. Over the course of a year, the total number of homeless persons is far more than 60K, as some people are moved off the list and others are moved on.