IS THE CITY FAIR TO FAMILIES SEEKING SHELTER?

LET'S HEAR YOUR ANSWER!

(Article published in HWW Dec 2007)

If you or anyone you know has experience with New York City’s PATH system of handling families seeking shelter, we want to hear from you.

How the city decides if a family is truly homeless and needs emergency housing is once again coming under court-ordered scrutiny.

Last month the Department of Homeless Services stopped giving overnight shelter to families who showed up at the PATH intake center after 5 pm after having been told they were ineligible for shelter. According to DHS, families turned away had somewhere else to go.

But was that "alternative housing" as "safe and available" as the city claimed? Advocates for the families raised doubts about the eligibility process. In challenging the new policy in court, Legal Aid’s Homeless Rights Project pointed out that DHS’s own figures show that it denies shelter to many families who are eventually found eligible – forcing them to reapply many times, even when nothing had changed.

If you have experiences with the PATH intake process that you would like the experts to think about, please send a note to HOW…WHEN…WHERE at (212) 645-6940 (fax or phone) or mail to 332 BLEECKER STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10014-2980. We promise to see that your story gets attention.