Posted on September 2, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone New Yorkers are continuing to express concern about the ongoing crisis of homelessness, which is undeniably impacting the lives of all who live here. More than 58,000 people will sleep in shelters tonight, and thousands more struggle to survive on the streets, in parks or in the subways. A piece in today’s New York Times explains how Mayor de Blasio’s public statements about street homelessness have evolved recently and underscores how his administration’s philosophy differs from that of former Mayor Giuliani. In an interview with WNBC-TV last week, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Republican, suggested that Mr. de Blasio’s methods were not aggressive enough. “You chase ’em and you chase ’em and you chase ’em and you chase ’em,” he said, summing up his own approach, “and they either get the treatment that they need or you chase ’em out of the city.” In the radio interview on Tuesday, with Brian Lehrer of WNYC, Mr. de Blasio responded. “We don’t chase human beings who are in crisis,” he said, invoking the work of Pope Francis and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan in a plea for compassion. What is indisputable is that only investment in permanent housing solutions will have any lasting effect on New York City’s homelessness crisis. The de Blasio administration has taken some key steps to tackle record homelessness – such as expanding services for people with mental illness, eviction prevention, and rental subsidies for homeless families and individuals – but there is far more work to be done. The city increased spending on homeless services by 12.4 percent to about $1.17 billion in the last fiscal year, according to the Independent Budget Office. In an interview, Ms. Barrios-Paoli, the departing deputy mayor, said that while “there’s no magic bullet” for homelessness, the administration succeeded in moving more than 15,000 people out of shelters and into permanent housing in the last year. Ms. Barrios-Paoli said the city should see results as more affordable housing is created and its investments in rental assistance, addiction prevention and other programs pay off over time. She added that the city was seeking more state investment in supportive housing, which provides homes with social services to people with mental health problems and other specific needs.
