ON THE CUTTING EDGE: NYC’s Solution To End Homelessness
The Bloomberg administration is finding homes for the homeless – though not always within city limits. Since 2007, NYC has spent $500,000 a year to fly more than 550 families to relatives who have agreed to take them in, and has paid for one-way tickets to Paris ($6,332), Orlando ($858.40), Johannesburg ($2,550.70) and San Juan ($484.20), reports The New York Times:
Many of them are longtime New Yorkers who have come upon hard times, arrive at the shelter’s doorstep and jump at the offer to move at no cost.
Others are recent arrivals who are happy to return home after becoming discouraged by the city’s noise, the mazelike subway, the difficult job market or the high cost of housing. …
At the intake center, social workers ask families about their housing options in other places. If a family says that they have relatives who might be willing to take them in, and social workers confirm their report, the family could be on a plane, bus or train within hours, although the city will sometimes wait a few days to avoid the expense of last-minute fares. …
City officials said there were no limits on where a family can be sent, and families can reject the offer and stay in city shelters. So far, families have been sent to 24 states and 5 continents, most often to Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
It costs taxpayers $36,000 to house each homeless family in the city’s shelter system, according to The Times – which is double the rent that the average apartment dweller in the outer boroughs pays.
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