He is one of the thousands of homeless people in New York City. The homeless population in the city has risen sharply over the last year, increasing the demand for homeless shelters. The Bloomberg administration opened more homeless shelters in just the last two months. According to the city’s Department of Homeless Services, the city recorded 43,731 homeless people (25,475 adults and 18,256 children) in the shelter system this week, up 18 percent from the 37,143 (21,807 adults and 15,336 children) a year ago. By law, the city is obligated to supply shelter to people who have nowhere else to go, though there are limits to how long they can stay in certain shelters. The current shelter census is the highest ever. The number does not reflect the total homeless population, because some people avoid the shelter system. There are 228 homeless shelters in the city, up from 211 in June 2010. A vast majority of them are privately run and financed by the Department of Homeless Services.
2 comments:
Ah, for so many of us -- but, by the grace of God . . . and sometimes . . . a friend's lumpy couch.
I did the lumpy couch, lost a roommate and the ability to keep that apartment, already working full time at mimimum, and nursing school full time.
The cooks in the pedi. nursing home, (where I worked) kept me fed and even packed lunches for me, all my homework/projects were done on breaks in the closed reception area, (worked evenings), I was the "pet" of an anthesiologist--who got me into many facinating surgeries--lent me a key to a private doctors room, (shower, bed, privacy--nothing else--I typed up some of his notes), and a good friend and her husband put my stuff in storage and let me stay on their couch in a very small apartment.
How much we take for granted every day. JanUK
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