Mayor Pins Rise Of City Homeless On "Pleasurable" Shelter System

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The city's homeless population has risen sharply this year and families in particular are staying in shelter much longer, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested on Thursday that the shelter system has become "more pleasurable." NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg responded Thursday to the city's sharp rise in family homelessness ? 9,300 families with children this week.

They are staying at shelters 30 percent longer than last year ? nearly a year.

"We have made our shelter system so much better that unfortunately when people are in it, or fortunately depending on what your objective is, it is a much more pleasurable experience than they ever had before," the mayor said on Thursday. "There is less pressure for people to move out today and the economy is a lot worse."

Some homeless families told NY1 they were not as impressed of the shelter system.

"They treat you like you're not a human being," said one person who stayed in a city shelter.

"It's me and my wife and my five children and we were all compacted into one room," said another.

"In some of the shelters [there's] unsafe living conditions," said a third.

The increase in city homeless comes after state cuts to a rental subsidy program for families, known as Advantage. After the cuts, the city said it could not afford it any more.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants to start a new pilot program for about 1000 families, but she says the Bloomberg administration rejected the idea.

"The trouble we have is it is so big that pilots don't really do anything," said the mayor.

In response to the rise in homelessness, the city has opened up nine new shelters this summer. But families going through the system say there is no program or solution to get them into permanent housing.

"The way things are going, they don't know if they are going to have a program," said a shelter resident.

The Bloomberg adminstration says it will not turn families away and that they will provide shelter no matter what.

"We want to continue to make sure people can have the skills they need to get employment, to get jobs, to provide income for themselves and their families leave the shelter system, and maintain themselves in the community," said Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond.

The mayor said a more permanent solution could prove elusive.

"The question you have to ask yourself is, do you want to reach into your pocket and have your taxes go up and start paying for more permanent housing for everybody?" Bloomberg said.

Source: http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/167484/mayor-pins-rise-of-city-homeless-on--pleasurable--shelter-system

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