19,000 Children in NYC Homeless Shelters: Report
The number of children in the city’s shelter system has
reached 19,000, according to a published report referencing recent city data.
"Not since the grim days of the Great Depression has
New York City had 20,000 children sleeping homeless each night," Patrick
Markee, senior policy analyst with the Coalition for the Homeless told the New
York Daily News.
City stats show the total shelter population rose 17
percent in the last year, while the number of children rose by 18 percent, the
News reports.
According to Mayor Bloomberg the number of homeless
children increased because of the recession.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a mayoral hopeful,
supports using public housing apartments and federal housing vouchers to help
the homeless get out of shelters.
Meanwhile, the city opened at least nine new shelters
this summer, the News said.
"Since just May, more than 2,000 children have
become homeless," Ralph da Costa Nunez, CEO of the Institute for Children,
Poverty, and Homelessness told the News. "If the trend continues, we will
surely see more than 20,000 children living in shelters by Christmas — a gift
that nobody wants."
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