New York Homeless Population Grows Amid Shortage of Services

"The homeless population has risen to an all-time high, forcing the de Blasio administration to house desperate families in decrepit tenements red-flagged by the city’s own inspectors as hazardous," according to an article by Harry Stevens and Greg B. Smith.

The article presents a few statistics to measure the trends of homelessness in New York:

• "By mid-December, the homeless census reached a record 59,068" but the Coalition for the Homeless "says it peaked even higher at 60,352."
• "The homeless count, according to the city and the coalition, includes 25,000 children." 
• And the current figures represent a "10% jump from the 53,615 in shelters on de Blasio’s Inauguration Day."

According to the article, the de Blasio Administration has been forced to the use of controversial "cluster" housing to provide shelter for the growing homeless population. "Despite the mayor’s wishes, the city actually increased the number of cluster units in 2014 by nearly 8% — from 2,918 to 3,143. The 225-unit jump was far less than the 1,150 cluster units Bloomberg added in his last two years, but critics were hoping for a total turnaround."