QUESTION
How does the 30 to 60 day shelter limit rule affect asylum seekers and what is the status of shelter provisions and street homelessness?
1:08:41
·
4 min
More than 178,000 asylum seekers have been served, with over 55,000 notices given to single adults and adult families, resulting in 24% currently in the shelter system due to reapplication.
- The shelter rule has led to individuals seeking asylum to face uncertainty about where they will sleep, with some ending up in the streets or subways.
- Currently, there is a waitlist for beds at shelters, and efforts are made to accommodate applicants as soon as possible.
- Anecdotal data suggest a limited impact of asylum seekers on street homelessness, awaiting detailed analysis from the HOPE count.
- Outreach efforts are ongoing to ensure the safety and shelter of individuals on the streets, with a focus on keeping people indoors.
Carlina Rivera
1:08:41
So my district is home to the only reticketing center in New York City, Saint Brigitte's, which New York Magazine called the longest line in New York.
1:08:50
This site is the center of the chaos caused by the mayor's 30 to 60 day shelter limit rule.
1:08:56
Individuals seeking asylum don't know where they're going to sleep, and they have had to deal with freezing, cold, and rain, and as was mentioned by the by the panel before this one.
1:09:07
Whether it's 4 days, 10 days, 15, you can hear these stories over and over again.
1:09:11
And while people are looking or waiting for a cut, a bed somewhere, they either are sleeping on the floor in some sort of facility, or they're sleeping in the street or on the subway.
1:09:23
So I have
Shahana Hanif
1:09:23
a few
Carlina Rivera
1:09:23
questions related to this.
1:09:26
I'm gonna ask them all at once for for time.
1:09:30
And as my mother would say, it's okay to take out a pen and write them down.
1:09:34
How many people have been asked to leave stable shelter play meant due to this rule.
1:09:41
How many people have reapplied?
1:09:44
How many of those people have actually been placed in a bed?
1:09:49
What is the current wait list for a bed?
1:09:54
How many individuals do you estimate are sleeping on the street or in the subways.
1:10:03
Wouldn't it be safer to have people sleeping in shelters rather than crammed in commercial basements.
1:10:11
And do you track how many people have been replaced in a bed and then have cycled through reapplication again.
1:10:20
Thank you.
Molly Schaeffer
1:10:23
So I'm going to take those one at a time.
1:10:27
I think just high level, as you all know, we have served more than 178,000 asylum seekers.
1:10:37
And at this point, we have given 55,200 notices to single adults and adult families.
1:10:48
24% are currently in our shelter system.
1:10:52
So they have reapplied and they are currently in our shelter system.
1:10:57
We have said many times, we are out of space.
1:11:00
We allow people to when they're reapplying, they come to St.
1:11:04
Brigitte's, and they are given the opportunity to join the wait list.
1:11:11
And at that point, we do everything we can to get them on the next available bed.
1:11:18
I'll turn it over to my colleague for anything on street homelessness.
Molly Wasow Park
1:11:25
Thank you.
1:11:26
So, as you know, Department of Home Services does 247 outreach to clients experiencing un sheltered homelessness.
1:11:33
This is separate and apart from asylum seeker crisis.
1:11:36
It's something we've done for many years and have increased in the Adams administration.
1:11:41
We agree that we absolutely do not want people on this Street.
1:11:46
Our outreach workers are annual count of people experiencing homelessness happened, the hope count, which is the gold standard of data that happened at the end of January.
1:11:59
The data collection is still under review.
1:12:04
The analysis is under review, so I will have to hold them through specific of numbers on on people any relationship between street unsheltered homelessness and people experience the asylum seekers.
1:12:18
But I will say anecdotally from what we hear from our outreach team's limited impact at this point on unsheltered homelessness related to asylum seekers.
1:12:29
That doesn't mean no, but but limited, that again is anecdotal information, and we will certainly be looking at the hope count data when it comes in I think with respect to some of the same project and the reticketing, we are certainly aware that people have spent time outside either overnight or lining up early in the morning.
1:12:52
People do have a weightless number We are community and, you know, I'm speaking as a member of the administration department of social services is not directly involved in this site, but I can certainly assure you that we use those wait list numbers.
1:13:06
We communicate with clients.
1:13:08
People do not need to be spending time outside.
1:13:10
Keeping people safe and indoors is a priority, and that's why we have the the waiting room facilities that that Doctor Shaffer mentioned.