This Policy Research Commentary takes a closer look at the interim results of HUD’s Family Options Study, the most comprehensive study ever conducted to test different approaches to addressing family homelessness, and raises serious questions about the ability to draw any definitive conclusions thus far.…
This community profile takes an in-depth look at “affordable housing” in the Concourse/Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx—one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. A large percentage of new affordable housing units are financially out of reach for low-income residents in the neighborhood. Could new plans for development and affordable housing in the Jerome Avenue Corridor of the South Bronx destabilize this already vulnerable community?…
Struggles with homelessness and poverty are not new to East New York. It is the largest feeder of families into New York City’s shelter system and one of the first neighborhoods designated for affordable housing redevelopment. This new community profile examines the impact this redevelopment may have on the neighborhood’s poorest residents. Will it prevent more families from becoming homeless or are these “affordable units” out of reach for the families who need them most?…
In a single, comprehensive resource, the American Almanac of Family Homelessness identifies and analyzes key issues surrounding homelessness among families with children, examines state strategies, and illustrates the impact of public policies on family homelessness across the country.…
The return of a policy to give some homeless families priority placement in New York City public housing has been hailed as a first step to ending family homelessness. With close to one in six families entering shelter from public housing, what impact will this policy actually have? There has been little discussion about the role of public housing as a feeder into the family shelter system. This policy brief examines the complex relationship between city policies and families entering shelter from public housing. …
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.…
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. …
This issue examines the plight of undocumented families in “Reaching into the Shadows;” the bureaucratic and legal challenges to receiving food stamps in “Little Becoming Less;” the positive effects of gardening in “Green Thumbs Up;” and the need for better data to understand and target services to homeless youth in “National Perspective.”
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