I recently read on article in the
New York Times titled “In New York, Having a Job, or 2, Doesn’t Mean Having a
Home” about homelessness in New York City. It is becoming an increasing problem, with a
record high of 50,000 in shelters. 28%
of the families that live in the shelters have at least one person who is employed,
and 16% of those who are single have jobs as well. What I found to be the most
interesting is that most of the homeless in the shelters are females trying to
support themselves and their families.
These
women must show high responsibility at their jobs every day, and then return to
the shelter where they have a curfew, have to prove they are on the lookout for
housing, and show they are saving part of their paycheck every time they get
paid. With cheap housing being around $1000/month, and most of them getting
paid $8/hour it is basically impossible for them to be able to support
themselves and their family while in the shelter, let alone save enough to pay
that kind of rent every month. Most of these women are so ashamed that their
colleagues have no idea that they are homeless because they want to look as
professional as possible to their peers.
In
2004 Mayor Bloomberg came up with a plan to decrease the homeless population,
then 38,000, by two-thirds in five years by shifting money from the shelters to
create more low income housing. They even went as far as not giving homeless
families’ priority in entering the shelter, and made it more difficult for
people to return.
This
plan has obviously not worked for the city. The homeless population has risen
by 12,000, with 21,600 of them being children. There needs to be a different
plan of action taken to ensure that these families have a secure place to live.
The Bloomberg administration has this idea that by giving more benefits they
are just attracting more people to the shelters, but what are those 50,000 who
do need assistance supposed to do?
Observation: The Young Conservatives of
Texas held an “Affirmative Action Bake Sale” on campus to show how unfair they
think Affirmative Action is to them.
I know the feeling of trying to afford housing on a non-livable wage, and I couldn't imagine doing it and trying to raise a child. I understand trying to weigh out costs vs. benefits, but I think this goes a little too far. There is so much misinformation around homeless populations and I think it allows this kind of thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to comment on your observation. The Bake Sale was an example of the privilege that some people still refuse to acknowledge. It was nice to see so many people speak out against it.
ReplyDelete