Stresses of Shelter Life Rip Homeless Families Apart, Study Finds
(DNAINFO) Amy Zimmer | May 16, 2017 — A record 23,000 children — nearly half of whom are under 6 — are now living in the city’s shelter system, and more often than not, their families are placed in shelters far from their communities, according to a new report from the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School.
Currently there are about 62,000 people in the city’s shelter system, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
The stress of shelter life adds up, especially as the average length of stay has also reached new heights: Families with children are staying about 14 months, the report released Tuesday found. The pressure is corroding family ties — spurring partners and spouses to separate or driving parents and children apart as kids are placed in homes with friends, relatives or foster care.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has recognized the problems of uprooting families from their existing social networks, which is why he’s described his plans to add 90 new shelters across the city as a way to ensure people are in shelters “as close to the neighborhood they come from as possible,” he said in February.
So far, four of those 90 shelters have opened, with some of the nearby residents complaining that their neighborhoods are bearing more than their fair share of the homeless crisis.
As those controversial plans move forward, the report provides a nuanced picture about why moving families far from their homes destabilizes families and the harsh realities, in general, for families in shelters.