City Rushes To Accommodate Rapidly Rising Homeless Population [View all]

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http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/08/city_rushes_to.php


As the never-ending sweat of August settles into New York's membrane, there are those who are unfortunately not able to sit by an A/C all day and bask in the endless drivel of freon, forced to sleep outside of churches, federal buildings or any other institution that legally cannot kick them out.

Yes, we are talking about New York City's homeless population. And its ranks are skyrocketing: the homeless population of the Big Apple, in just one year, has risen 18 percent, putting the number somewhere just under 50,000 (it was around 37,000 last year). Also, that's only the number recorded at the shelters; the actuality could be much more unsettling. Regardless, there are fifty thousand people living on the streets of New York, unable to find food or shelter on their own.

This remarkable figure lies next to the City's 10% unemployment rate, a sad feat for New York and an increasingly thin line of hope for job-seekers. However, one must keep in mind that, by law, the City must offer some sort of shelter for the homeless population - the only restriction really comes on the time limits set for their stay. As temperatures dramatically rise, the summer spree for shelter has caused headaches for both the administration and the citizens, simply due to a lack of an answer to one resounding and flawed question of our society:

Where can all these homeless people sleep?