19,000 kids in NY City's homeless shelters

In the past year alone, the total shelter population has risen by 17% and the number of children has risen by 18%, city stats show. Mayor Bloomberg said recently that the number of homeless children was increasing because of the recession.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a mayoral hopeful, has supported using public housing apartments and federal housing vouchers to move people out of shelters. The city, meanwhile, has opened at least nine new shelters this summer.

“Since just May, more than 2,000 children have become homeless,” said Ralph da Costa Nunez, CEO of the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness. “If the trend continues, we will surely see more than 20,000 children living in shelters by Christmas — a gift that nobody wants.” Read more >>