DHS provides emergency shelter to homeless single adults, families with children, and adult families pursuant to the litigation establishing New York’s legal Right to Shelter. The DHS system is by far the largest shelter system, and is legally obligated to expand to meet the level of need. DHS provides shelter beds to New Arrivals as well as to homeless longer-term New Yorkers. The Coalition for the Homeless has consistently been publishing monthly census data on the shelters operated by DHS (and its predecessors) since 1983.
HPD historically has provided temporary shelter placements for households displaced from their homes by fires or City-issued vacate orders through its Emergency Housing Services (EHS). Since HPD was the only other City agency providing shelter beds in the 1980s, the Coalition’s historical shelter census has traditionally combined the DHS and HPD data. In response to rapid increase in the number of New Arrivals coming to NYC and requiring shelter placements beginning in 2022, HPD began providing shelter to New Arrivals as well; these numbers are tracked separately from the EHS figures.
HRA operates the shelter system that serves people fleeing domestic violence (DV). As the HRA DV system has only a limit number of units and stays are time-limited, there are more DV households in DHS shelters than in the HRA DV shelters.
MOCJ provides a small number of shelter beds for justice-involved individuals.
The small number of DYCD beds serve runaway and homeless youth and young adults. DYCD also provides shelter to very small number of New Arrivals.
H+H operates the Humanitarian Response and Relief Centers (HERRCs) and other facilities set-up specifically and only for New Arrivals.
NYCEM also operates a number of shelter facilities set-up specifically and only for New Arrivals.
There are also a limited number of smaller private and faith-based shelters throughout NYC, which are not included in the shelter census numbers provided by the City.
