This value represents an increase of 2.4% from 2023 and is the highest value since 2005, when the New York City Council began preparing this report.
Ordered by the U.S. government, DSS conducts this study each winter to determine the number of homeless people living on the streets and in other public spaces, such as parks or subway stations.
Effie reported that the document was published at a time when New York is experiencing a deep immigration crisis.
In April, about 147,000 people slept in shelters in the city, including 66,000 migrants and asylum seekers, according to previous municipal data.
However, DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow emphasized on Thursday, in an interview with the City Limits portal, that the increase in homelessness in 2024 is not directly related to the migrant population.
Faced with the immigration crisis that has plagued New York since 2022, the city mayor’s office recently responded by limiting homeless people’s stays in shelters to 30 days for individuals and 60 days for families with children.
The report was harshly criticized by Homeless New York, suggesting that its methodology is flawed and that the estimate “does not come close to representing the number of homeless people” in the city or “the true extent of the homelessness crisis.” “.
The association also points out the difficulty of counting all the people living in metro stations, in illegal homes, in cars, or in other random places.
“For many, going unnoticed and avoiding detection are basic survival techniques,” he stressed in a statement.
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