Family Homelessness in NYC: Keeping Track of Housing Insecurity in 2020

Published November, 2020

New York City is on the brink of an eviction crisis. There were already 43,000 people living in family shelters in New York City in 2019, including close to 25,000 children and teen. But with the State moratorium anticipated to be lifted in January, a new fact sheet put out by the Family Homelessness Coalition and the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York calls attention to the ways in which thousands of New Yorkers – mostly women and children of color — are at risk of experiencing the trauma of homelessness.

Among the key findings in the infographic:

• 32% of renters in the NY Metro Areas with children reported they did not pay or deferred payment of rent in recent months.
• 66% of low-income renters with children reported slight or no confidence in making their next rental payment on time.
• Half of the homeless shelter population in New York City are children aged 13 or younger.
• Among the heads of families with shelter in DHC shelters, 95% are Black or Hispanic and 69% are single mothers.
• The average length of stay among families with children in DHS shelter is 446 days.

The infographic draws on data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey and American Community Survey, as well as data from the City’s Mayor’s Management Report and Department of Homeless Services Dashboard to illustrate the critical need for government support and intervention to overcome the consequences of the affordability and homelessness crisis.

The Family Homelessness Coalition is calling on New York City and State leaders to strengthen prevention and housing stability for families with children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Among the opportunities identified to address this, the infographic highlights the importance of housing subsidies to ensure a sustainable transition to permanent housing.

Download the fact sheet to learn more about housing instability and homelessness and the policy, budget and legislative solutions to address the housing affordability crisis in New York City.