Homelessness in New York City Paper Example

The issue of homelessness in New York City has raised a lot of concern among most people since it is a city that has a high population to the extent that some people end up being homeless. Much of the problem is caused by the existing policies trying to deal with the issue creating powerful incentives that in the end leave the poor being homeless. However, the policy issue is not the primary cause despite it being recognised as the first. The other reasons are that the houses are too expensive or the low-income families to afford. Second is that the standards of living of the people in New York are low that lead to poverty. There is also a high population of single heads that contributes to high rates of homelessness Filler (2018).

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According to the New York City Department of Homeless Service (2015), the population growth rate in New York has continued to increase over time. Since the Great Depression in the 1930's the rate homelessness in New York has continued to arise. In October 2018, the population of homeless people was 63,559. The homeless families were 15,572 with 23,136 homeless children who sleep each night in New York City under the municipal system that shelters them. Families counted as being part of the homeless population of homeless constitutes three-quarters of the total population. In the year 2017, the population of homeless men, women and children was 129,803 who spent the night in the municipal system shelters. The population of the children spending the night at the New York municipal shelter system is said to be 45,000. Most families who were provided with shelter come from very poor neighbourhoods in New York City the population of the single adults and families come from the entire City. Compared to ten years ago, the population of the homeless people who spend the night in the Municipal shelters has increased to 75 per cent higher. The basic source of the rate of homelessness is a condition where families cannot afford houses due to the high costs compared to their living conditions. They are not able to afford houses due to factors like unemployment, being evicted from their homes, poor conditions of the houses, domestic violence and living in areas that are very much overcrowded. Homeless single adults experience high rates of serious illnesses that include addiction and other severe health problems and mental illnesses. Thousands of homeless people without shelter spend the night on streets, subways and other public facilities accuracy of the homeless population is yet to be achieved. Those living on the streets the majority of them suffer severe health problems and mental illnesses. About 58 per cent of the New York homeless people are African-American, 31 per cent are Latin, 7percent are white and less than one are Asian while those of unknown ethnicity are 3% American Coalition for the Homeless (2018).

The table below shows the percentage of the homeless population in New York City

There exists a department of Homeless Services that is commonly known as "DHS" that helps to provide emergency shelters to the homeless during emergencies according to the local and state law, the laws of implementation and court orders. The primary goal is to restore the homeless residents to permanent homes with reasonable conditions that support life and are affordable to all of them. The Department intends to amend Title 31 of the Rules of the City New York by adding a Chapter three that concerns single adults who return to the shelter system after they had already left and their absence continues. The Department seeks to provide homes for those who have already left the shelters that they will be presented with alternative homes with good living conditions such that they will not need to go back to the shelter services. Those clients who intend to live in the homes for a long time are provided with long-term housing stability and benefits like being employed and being engaged in social services in the community and ways to make use of the shelter services being provided to them. Using a Single Adult Resource Assessment, the housing of the adults will be assessed to determine where they resided to make it easier for their re-entry. The Department does not support the assessment of a person for re-entry into the shelter system must be propagated as a rule as per City Administrative Procedures Act. The decision in Callahan v Carey (Sup Ct. N.Y. County, Cot. 18, 1979) the case brought victory on the part where there had been a system that was unfriendly to the rights of the homeless people. The case had been brought by the founder of the Coalition for the Homeless. The aim was to come up with an enforcement system for the remedies of a homeless person. This is a landmark case for the protection of the rights of the homeless New York Rules (2017).

The issue arose after the Department being against the assessment of persons who intend to re-enter the shelters for adults after a period of being absent for some time. They want it instead to be under a system which they will be in a position to identify where such a person resided before leaving the shelter. They will be in a position to either restore them to the previous shelter or find new shelter for them to avoid the situation of being left with no place to live. Permanent structures are also being constructed for those in a position to be living in the shelters with no intent to leave. This problem mainly affects the single adults who are provided with shelter. The problem arose mainly as a result of homelessness.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA early this year was no longer able to cater to the needs of the homeless anymore. A message was sent to the persons informing them that the agency was no longer in charge of their housing responsibility. After the affected people protested, the Agency said that they were going to cater for the bills with a timeline set temporarily. They were offered alternative means for them to live by being taken to other regions. The issue is that there are still so many people living in New York City who have been evacuated from other areas some of who live with their relatives. The Agency has had challenges in the planning and response of the issues that arise as a result of the people evacuated. The problems that they face include language barriers and poor health conditions. The affected families were left with no option but to stay in hotels. As a result of this, the requirements for a living have declined some people end up eating one meal per day because of the expensive nature of the environment that they are currently living in. In the case of single-parent families, when FEMA stops providing the temporary accommodation that they are relying on the affected families including those with young children will have to live in the shelters which will be hard to live with young children. The Agency should look for alternative means to deal with the issue that is causing them to withhold the services that they are intended to offer to the homeless people. Living in the streets would not be an option for the people living temporarily in the hotels because it would fail in the aim intended for the agency to help the people evacuated. It is their responsibility to ensure that the evacuees have proper living conditions that include adequate housing and food and to ensure that people are provided with their basic needs Moura (2018).

Some challenges exist in the policies governing the housing policy programs. Housing policies affect the health of persons by improving the quality of the houses, ensuring that the prices are affordable and proper security. Policies, measures for implementation and governance determine the success or failure of housing programs. The policy makers through housing issues also promote good health. The housing policies in the United States are an amalgam of policies, actors, authorities and decision makers at all the levels of government using strategies like the development and enforcement of environmental housing codes and implementation of policies for the protection of quality environments and affordable housing for the homeless. Shifts in federalism also affect the housing policies there are changes and differences from the way policies are made at the national level and also the implementation is different from the manner the state conducts its housing policy practices. Evaluation of the governance of housing cannot be conducted without considering the effects of devolution on housingWillison (2017).

In the governance of housing policies, Dr Ben Carson was appointed the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing, and Urban Development raises a challenge being a threat to the capacity of the policy that was established by the administration of Obama to come up with evidence-based housing policies which Dr Carson adamantly opposes. The implementation aims at improving the neighbourhoods and improving opportunities for the cities to build houses and not settling people on poor environments. Dr Carson sees housing as more of a factor that affects good health and ends up disregarding the evidence-based houses that ensure that the proper housing reaches everyone considering good health, environment and proper living conditions for all persons. He argued that housing a few needy people leaving others homeless with poor legislation and non-effective means of legislation that ensures equality and non-corruption issues in the sector for proper housing for all persons especially the homeless and single adults living in shelters for almost their entire lives is not ideal Willison (2017).

Conclusion

Adopting proper policies and implementation strategies toward the attainment of proper housing would help to curb the challenges existing. Ensuring that once it is agreed that things will be performed in a certain way similar to a particular policy the body should ensure that the said direction is followed. The proper conditions of the housing to ensure good health and environment conducive for living for all persons should be the main aim and not which means will prevail the other. All means possible should be followed to ensure that no person will be left on the streets without shelter due to reasons that can be done away with entirely. It is not about the best means but all reasonable means possible to eradicate the existing problem.

References

Filer (2018) "What Causes Family Homelessness?" accessed on 20th December 2018 from https://www.city-journal.org/html/what-really-causes-family-homelessness-12786.html

Coalition for the Homeless (2018) "Basic Facts about Homelessness: New York City" accessed on 20th December 2018 from http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-new-york-city/

New York Rules (2017) "Homeless" Adopted Rules: Closed to Comments accessed on 20th December 2018 from http://rules.cityofnewyork.us/tags/homeless

Moura P (2018) "There is no Space for Us: New York's Shortage Leaves Hurricane Evacuees in Limbo" accessed on 20th December from http://www.centernyc.org/there-is-no-space-for-us

Willison C (2017) "Shelter from the Storm: Roles, responsibilities, and challenges in the United States housing policy governance" accessed on 20th December 2018 fromhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851017302026