A Family Affair: Parents, Children and NYC's Homelessness Crisis

Bill to Require Mental Health Staff at Family Shelters Spurs Worry Over ‘Unintended Effects’

|

Supporters of the legislation, which would require the city to fund the placement of mental health professionals on-site at all homeless shelters with children, say it would increase access to care for families experiencing the crisis of housing insecurity. But some advocates worry it could inadvertently ensnare more low-income families in the child welfare system.

A Family Affair: Parents, Children and NYC's Homelessness Crisis

NYC Considers Summer Camps to House Homeless Migrants 

|

Strained for shelter space, the Adams administration confirmed it was exploring the possibility of using camp facilities “should they become necessary,” to house asylum seekers arriving from the Southern border. The city has relied on commercial hotels and other stopgap facilities to quickly add shelter capacity for decades, but camps would be a new sort of accommodation for families.

Housing and Homelessness

After Media-Frenzied Welcome, Asylum Seekers Endure Hardships of Shelter

|

The city estimates that around 6,300 asylum seekers have arrived via buses from the border in recent months. In addition to finding a safe place to stay, they must navigate access to medical care, keep tabs on their ongoing immigration cases and in some cases, attempt to reunite with family members they were separated from during their journeys. Some have left the shelter system altogether, citing safety concerns.