January 14, 2025 By Coalition for the Homeless Today, the Coalition for the Homeless published the following statement following Governor Hochul’s State of the State Address: “The Governor’s proposals are wholly insufficient to help those sleeping on the streets, in subways, and in shelters. The only solution to homelessness is housing, paired with supportive mental health services for those who need it. Flooding the subways with police and forcefully removing people – a policy driven more by lurid headlines than by any actual intent to help those in need – is ridiculous when we don’t have the mental health services to offer people when they are removed. Inpatient psychiatric hospital beds and community mental health services are lacking even for those who seek treatment on their own. And there simply isn’t enough affordable housing for those sleeping on our streets and in shelters. “Any plan that hinges on forced hospitalizations is short-sighted, traumatizes vulnerable New Yorkers, and accomplishes nothing – a person cannot be treated in a hospital forever, and when they do leave, they are rarely connected to the housing and community-based services that they need. Without these resources, the people forcibly removed from the subways will return to the subways again and again. People with serious mental illness now sit on wait lists for community treatment for months, even years. The standard for involuntary treatment is already sufficient – the problem has been, again, the lack of quality voluntary mental health services and housing. While we appreciate the Governor’s proposal to increase funding for outreach teams and supporting housing, far more is needed. “Yet, despite the dire need for more affordable housing – which every day is driving more families and individuals into homelessness – the Governor’s proposals for housing development will not create new homes for the people who need it most.”
