Posted on February 16, 2010 by GISELLE ROUTHIER As reported by Cindy Rodriguez of WNYC last Friday, the preliminary release of the 2010 Mayor’s Management Report confirms what we have been seeing over the past many months–homelessness has increased dramatically. The report covers the progress of city services from July to October of 2009. During this time, the number of families with children entering shelter increased by 25 percent since the same time last year. In addition, the number of single adults entering shelter increased by 8 percent. The report also showed that after leaving shelter, the rate of return increased for both single adults and adult families, while the family return rate remained the same. While the number of families placed in permanent housing increased, “the number of single adult placements fell by 25 percent.” Disturbingly, the report also indicates that the average school attendance rate for children in the shelter system is 82 percent, indicating that homeless children will miss a month of school while being homeless! Overall, the report is not a good sign for homelessness in New York City and we hope that it will spur the city to change course in its homeless strategy.
