[Overage in New York City shelter system]

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Overage in New York City shelter system

Introduction

New York has two emergency shelter systems. Primary system is operated by Department of Homeless Services (DHS). secondary system, smaller, operated by Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), serves only legal tenants and homeowners who have become homeless as the result of the fire or the sentence construction. (Zlotnick and Wright 1999) Although most participants in HPD shelters out in days or weeks, the small portion remain for many years. THE recent survey of households by HPD over-protected found that 37% were protected by four years at the cost to taxpayers of $ 18,500 per person per year. While total number of housing remain in HPD system has been declining for four years, percentage of long-term stayers has increased, so that in May 2005, 59% of households surplus had been in HPD shelters for two or more years.

Problem Statement

Unlike DHS, HPD is not funded or staffed to provide health services or social services to customers in its emergency shelter system. Excess surplus individuals and families are housed in small room the single room (SRO) in commercial hotels with shared bathrooms and kitchens. Anecdotally, HPD staff had come to believe that many of those who remain long-term disability were suffering with mental and substance use, but Agency had no resources to assess clients, or refer to needed services. To get the better idea of needs of long-term sedentary population, HPD works with Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and contracted in 2004 with Nathan Kline Institute to survey people who cooperated in emergency shelter system HPD. Researchers found that 43% had the complex set of health, mental health and substance abuse, and that 20% had less severe mental health and multiple substance abuse problems. Not only were these people with disabilities are not receiving services, lack of staff to correctly diagnose most severe mental illness who become long-term move to prevent placement of permanent supportive housing. (Shinn and Weitzman 1991)

Importance of Study

This study will provide the solid foundation for New York shelter system to improve efficiency. shelter system is superior to over 100 percent capacity and homeless men are forced to wait all night without any shelter and homeless women are being transported in middle of night for dormitory night just to sleep on schedule at 3 am and 6 am New York City houses are so crowded that men and women have been left homeless to sleep on benches, floors and dining tables in last three months. (Hodges and Wotring 2000)

Literature Review

Background

"During past 10 weeks we have done everything possible to avoid going to court, but situation has gone from bad to worse, and with arrival of winter there is the real risk that vulnerable homeless women and homeless men suffer serious injury or death in streets of city when they are denied legal refuge in violation of longstanding legal housing, "said Steve Banks, Attorney in Chief Legal Aid Society. (Hess 1987)

shelter system is superior to ...