Posted on August 16, 2012 by GISELLE ROUTHIER Even as the Bloomberg administration continues to turn away families at the front door of the shelter system, the City has still managed to reach new record numbers in shelter. NY1 reports on the growing problem of record homelessness and the individual lives that are being impacted: A Bronx intake center for homeless families is like home for the family of Genesis Maldonado and Luis Vasquez. “It’s pretty much hard on all the kids,” said Maldonado, the family mother. “They see this and they pretty much get traumatized.” On Monday, they were once again denied a long-term placement. The city told the family to live with Vasquez’s mother. “I can’t go back there,” Vasquez said. “My mother told me if I go there, I am going back to jail.” Instead, they slept on a park bench with their 6-year-old son Adrian. And Maldonado, Vasquez, and their son are not even counted among the record 10,600 homeless families currently sleeping in shelter. And undoubtedly there are more uncounted families like them. But the problems don’t stop there. Even for families in shelter, the City offers no housing programs to help them get out. Last year, the City ended its last ineffective rental subsidy and refused to replace it with proven-effective federal housing assistance. City Council Speaker Quinn is calling on the Mayor to once again allow homeless families to access permanent housing resources. But will the growing problem of homelessness put enough pressure on him? We certainly hope so.
