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REMARKS
Context of unsheltered homelessness in New York City
0:51:55
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107 sec
Commissioner Park provides context for unsheltered homelessness in New York City, emphasizing several key points:
- 97% of people experiencing homelessness in NYC are sheltered
- Those on the streets and subways have been failed by multiple levels of society
- Building connections with unsheltered individuals often takes a long time
- The city is committed to increasing low-barrier beds, which have shown success in keeping people off the streets
- The commissioner highlights the challenges in engaging with unsheltered individuals and the importance of persistent outreach efforts
- She emphasizes the need for appropriate housing models and strategic placement of shelter facilities to address unsheltered homelessness effectively
Molly Wasow Park
0:51:55
And I want to maybe take a step back here and really put unsheltered homelessness in New York City in context.
0:52:02
I touched on this in my testimony, but 97% of people experiencing homelessness in New York City are sheltered.
0:52:10
There are too many people on the streets and the subways, it is something that we are thinking about constantly.
0:52:17
But because of the nature of the right to shelter, because of the fact that we do have a very robust shelter system, the people who are on the streets and subways, they've been failed by everybody, right?
0:52:29
And not just government but really sort of every level of society.
0:52:35
And so building a connection, getting them to come inside is something that sometimes takes a very long time.
0:52:42
So that's why the number of referrals, that number of engagements is so much higher than the number of people who came inside.
0:52:48
But we do not take a one and done approach to outreach.
0:52:52
We're going to keep working with people and figuring out what it is that will connect.
0:52:59
One of the things that is important and why we're so excited about the state of the city commitment to increase the number of low barrier beds is that we know that this is a model that's been really successful with the population.
0:53:11
The amount of time that people will stay inside as opposed to cycling back to the streets and subways is longer, and success rates for placement to permanent housing are very strong.
0:53:24
So we think increasing this housing model, the shelter model, and making sure that those buildings are sited near areas where there are higher concentrations of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness is going to be really critical to continuing to make a dent on this issue.