Today’s Read: How to Help Homeless People Leave the Streets Posted on September 15, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone This summer, New Yorkers have been asking how to help the large number of people sleeping on the streets. As part of the City’s response, the NYPD has reportedly started mapping encampments of homeless people and coordinating efforts with the Department of H ..Read More
Number of Homeless Students in U.S. has Doubled Since Before the Recession Posted on September 14, 2015 by Lyndsey Layton and Emma Brown in The Washington Post The number of homeless children in public schools has doubled since before the recession, reaching a record national total of 1.36 million in the 2013-2014 school year, according to new federal data. The latest homeless count, an 8 percent increase over the 20 ..Read More
Bratton Denies Report Saying NYPD is Considering Using Computer System to Track Homeless Posted on September 14, 2015 by Dick Brennan in CBS New York A report says the NYPD has ramped up its approach to dealing with the homeless and may be ready to use the same data-driven tactics it uses against crimes. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, however, said the report is way off base. The report in the New York D ..Read More
Shelter’s Link to Luxury High-Rise Shows Contradictions of New York Housing Posted on September 14, 2015 by Matt A.V. Chaban in The New York Times When she found herself on the subway on a sweltering August night two years ago, her two young children and their few belongings squeezed onto the hard plastic seats beside her, Nichelle Way had no idea where they were going. Her abusive ex-boyfriend had just ..Read More
5 Myths About Public Housing Posted on September 14, 2015 by David Madden in Business Insider David Simon’s recent HBO miniseries “Show Me a Hero” has drawn attention to the history of one of the most misunderstood parts of American urban life: public housing. Many observers across the political spectrum believe that public housing in the United ..Read More
Actors, Psychologists Teach New York City Police How to Treat the Mentally Distressed Posted on September 13, 2015 by Jake Pearson in Associated Press A woman called Emily, tears streaming down her face, stood on a ledge threatening to jump. For 15 minutes, a police sergeant used the common thread that connects them — they’re both mothers — to gradually talk her out of killing herself. The scene, p ..Read More
New York Comptroller Clashes With Mayor de Blasio Over Shelter Contracts Posted on September 11, 2015 by Nikita Stewart in The New York Times Millions of dollars in payments to dozens of nonprofits that shelter homeless people in New York are being held up by the city comptroller, who said the city was potentially placing shelter residents in unsafe conditions under existing contracts. Since Mayor B ..Read More
Homeless in New York: Ways to Help Posted on September 11, 2015 by Letters to the Editor in The New York Times Let’s not talk about the “homeless problem.” The homeless are the young man who did his college homework while living in a shelter after his family hit a rough patch. The homeless are the man at the coat drive looking for a warm winter coat that could fi ..Read More
New York Will be First State With $15 Minimum for Fast-Food Workers Posted on September 10, 2015 by Freeman Klopott in Bloomberg Governor Andrew Cuomo set New York on a path to become the first state to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 per hour. The governor announced Thursday at a joint appearance with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden that his labor commissioner had app ..Read More