Overview
Before the primary, we published a fact sheet targeted towards candidates in the 2025 New York City elections as they were in the process of laying out their visions for New York City in key areas important to residents. We found that everyday New Yorkers were just as eager to learn more about family homelessness, so we updated our Overview and created a Part II of the Fact Sheet to share with a broader audience—from kids in school studying vital issues impacting their lives and their city, to religious and corporate leaders, to people concerned about their fellow New Yorkers.
There is a lot of confusion around homelessness, especially family homelessness. It is a complex, often multi-generational issue. Assisting families in shelter involves not just matters of housing but also of education, physical and mental health, employment, and domestic violence. Addressing family homelessness requires collaboration between the government, nonprofits, the business community, and residents, as well as the allocation of both time and resources to work towards solutions.
Share your thoughts and tell us what else you would like to know about family homelessness by email at INFO@ICPH.org or on Instagram at ICPH_org. Access additional resources in our informational tool kit.
Here is what you should know:
1. Children and families are the hidden face of homelessness.
The majority (69%) of individuals living in Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters in New York City are members of families with children.1 Slightly more than one out of three people in shelter in NYC is a child. Half of the children in DHS shelters are age five and under,2 and therefore in a critical developmental stage of their lives. The number of children sleeping in shelter each night—over 31,000—would fill nearly every seat at a concert at Forest Hills Stadium, a basketball game at Barclays Center, and a show at the Apollo Theater combined.3 This number does not include all the children and youth experiencing homelessness in NYC, such as those living in overcrowded, often uninhabitable, unsafe living conditions.
2. Shelters with support programs help families confront the barriers contributing to their housing instability.
Sufficient funding should be allocated toward shelter-based services such as job training for parents. Without these supports, homeless families will have a slim chance of maintaining their housing and will return to the shelter system.
3. Reducing family homelessness requires a multipronged approach.
Resources need to be invested wisely in policies that provide both immediate assistance and offer long-term solutions. This multipronged approach would include:
- Protecting the right to high-quality, service-rich, emergency temporary shelter for families.
- Helping homeless parents grow their income, benefits, and savings so they can maintain housing in the community as they transition off time-limited housing vouchers.
- Increasing the supply of housing that is affordable to families living in shelter. The currently available “affordable” housing is rarely within budget for a family residing in shelter.
- Building on homelessness prevention and aftercare service models with proven track records.
4. Students experiencing homelessness face worse educational outcomes.
During the 2023–2024 school year, about 146,000 New York City students experienced homelessness,4 including more than 38,900 public school students living in DHS shelters.5 Students experiencing homelessness have lower attendance rates, proficiency levels, and rates of high school graduation.6
5. All New Yorkers can ensure that at-risk and homeless families do not fall through the cracks given the current federal funding environment.
The City currently receives over $8 billion in federal funding for direct use in its annual Operating Budget. Over 80% of these dollars flow to departments that support families experiencing homelessness. Such programs help subsidize the cost of housing, education, and childcare.7,8 New York Governor Hochul has made clear that it would be impossible for the State to make up lost federal revenue. New York City could be in the same sinking boat.9 Should such cuts happen; NYC officials will be challenged to minimize reductions in services and/or resources for homeless families.
Note: Citations and links to sources for data are included in the PDF version of this document available by clicking Downloads underneath the Table of Contents.