Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office.
Both the city and the state have more to do to help runaway and homeless youth survive the Coronavirus crisis.
‘Providers have had to close four drop-in centers, some have rolled services back to the most basic pieces, and still others have ceased overnight hours.’
‘An honest examination of what happened must consider larger contextual factors at play, which include a marked lack of truly affordable housing, useful mental health services, and easily accessible and appropriate shelter options.’
‘We must figure out a path for a right to shelter for homeless youth. Absent that right, young people will continue without the survival resources they need.’
New York is once again set to count the youths who live on its streets. But this advocate believes the way the count is done, and the policy context in which it’s occurring, make it certain to be way off mark.