During school year 2012-13 there were over 80,000 homeless students in New York City’s public school system, a 60% increase in just six years. This new policy report looks at the academic and behavioral challenges facing these students, as well as the impact of homelessness on their performance in school and their probable outcomes by 12th grade and beyond.…
In “Bringing Child Homelessness into Focus,” the internationally renowned photographer Craig Blankenhorn shares his work documenting homeless families across the country. “A Sweet Mission,” features the Yonkers-based Greyston Foundation, with its open-hiring policy for the Greyston Bakery and its programs to employ, train, support, and encourage struggling adults who are trying to provide for their children. These stories are just two components of our Spring issue, whose many perspectives on a growing problem offer a wealth of information, insights, and challenges.…
As gentrification spreads in parts of New York City and across the country, this policy brief looks at trends in three neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx—Washington Heights, Highbridge/Concourse, and Kingsbridge Heights—to better understand what poverty destabilization is and where and when it occurs.…
October 2013 Homelessness is an issue that many New Yorkers are forced to confront every day—from passing a homeless person on the sidewalk or subway to facing homelessness themselves. A basic awareness of the growing crisis is unavoidable. But in a city as large and economically diverse as New York, it stands to reason that…
The Fall 2013 issue of UNCENSORED features excerpts from the Tackling Poverty panel discussion in early 2013. “Girls Write Now” takes a look at a highly successful New York City program, pairing professional women writers and editors with often at-risk female high school students to enhance the girls’ writing skills. “Judy Centers” examines efforts to bring together educational and family services under one roof for preschool-aged children and their parents. “The Sanity Project” comprises heartbreaking and inspiring personal essays by a Michigan-based homeless education liaison.…
September 2013 Except where noted, all data refer to the 2010–11 school year. Homelessness is experienced by thousands of students in New York City. 71,271 students were homeless during the 2011–12 school year (SY), 40% more than four years earlier.1 6.9% of all students were homeless during SY 2011–12, three times the national rate and…
Our spring issue features “It Takes McCarver to Raise a Child: The Tacoma Housing Authority’s Education-based Fight against Homelessness” and “Beyond Freedom: Survivors of Domestic Violence Learn Self-Care.” The National Perspective focuses on “The Struggles of Homeless Hispanic Families;” The Historical Perspective revisits “Fresh Air for City Kids: the Early Years of Summer Camp”; the Voices column looks closely at “Rapidly Re-Housing Homeless Families: New York City—a Case Study.”…
In this policy brief, ICPH finds promising results with regard to rapid re-housing program design, implementation, and certain outcomes. Questions are raised regarding replicability of aspects of the program in other localities where certain conditions, such as a depressed housing market with below-market rents, may not exist.…
Need for shelter in community districts in the South Bronx and central Brooklyn dominate the list of the highest-contributing areas, while comparatively few families in shelter come from Manhattan.…
a policy brief from ICPH May 2013 Finding a job continues to be a challenge for many New Yorkers. In March 2013 the city’s jobless rate was 8.9%;1 for homeless families, unemployment was significantly higher, with some estimates at 57%.2 Yet work has become practically the only means out of shelter, as budget constraints have…
This opinion brief points to New York City as a case study on rapid rehousing and takes a critical look at the long-term impact of federally driven rapid rehousing policies, raising fundamental questions about the effectiveness of rapid rehousing as a solution when it is used in a one-size-fits all manner.…
The feature articles in this issue take both broad and up-close looks at the work of serving poor and homeless families. Our cover story, “Healthy Beginnings, Healthy Life,” which examines widespread efforts among medical professionals and others to ensure the well-being of mothers over the long term. “Lives in Transition,” meanwhile, focuses on one facility, Transition House in Santa Barbara, California, which works with families who are motivated to overcome the crises that have led them to homelessness and rebuild their lives. …