Midtown – Homelessness on Streets Dropped 12 Percent Since Last Year, De Blasio Says
(DNAINFO) Valeria Ricciulli | April 29, 2016 — Advocates say the one-time survey is a “preposterous” way to get a true measure of homelessness.
The number of homeless on city streets has dropped 12 percent, according to a federal survey that canvassed the streets earlier this year, the mayor’s office announced this week.
The Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) survey found that there were 2,794 homeless individuals living on the street overnight during its count on Feb. 9, down from 3,182 last year, the mayor’s office said in a press release Thursday.
The study comes as homelessness in the city reaches levels that haven’t been this bad since the Great Depression, according to advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless, which estimates there were 60,410 homeless people, including 23,783 children, in city shelters as of February.
De Blasio has come under fire for refusing to publicly address concerns about rising homelessness, including a spike in 311 complaints, until his own police commissioner admitted there was an issue.
In January, a Quinnipiac University surveyfound that 73 percent of voters felt the city was doing too little to help homeless people.
The mayor said in his release that his administration will continue its local homeless outreach initiative, HOME-STAT, scheduling quarterly overnight counts starting in May, as well as releasing a monthly report on the program’s findings.