Fewer New York City families are staying in shelters but those that do are staying longer, study finds

The average length of stay has gone up by 77 days since 2020.

by Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech | April 21, 2022 | Apr. 21, 2022

**ADVANCE FOR TUESDAY, AUG. 19** Noah Wison, 11, poses for a photograph after an interview at the Homeward Bound Camp, Wednesday, July 9, 2008 in Bear Mountain N.Y. Last year, a daily average of 9,297 families – the most ever – were living in New York City’s homeless shelters, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, which operates Camp Homeward Bound. Similar trends have surfaced nationwide. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Story at a glance

A new report from the Citizens Committee for Children of New York found that the number of families entering New York City homeless shelters has dropped.

In 2021, there were 9,800 families with children staying in a city shelter, the report found, almost 2,000 fewer families than in 2020.

However, those families with children in shelters are staying for longer, the report also found.

Fewer New York City families are living in homeless shelters, but their stays have gotten longer, a new report shows.

The report released earlier this week by the Citizens Committee for Children of New York, a child advocacy organization, stated that at the end of last year, there were 9,800 families with children living in city shelters — 1,896 fewer families in the shelter system than the year before.

But the report also noted that the average family in a New York City shelter stayed on average for 520 days — 77 days longer than the average stay from the year prior and 145 days longer than the average stay in 2013.

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In addition, the rate of family re-entry into the shelter system decreased to 4 percent, the report states.

CCC leadership attributes the drop in the overall number of families with children staying in New York City shelters, in part, to the state’s eviction moratorium which was extended repeatedly throughout the first two years of the pandemic.

“New York state’s eviction moratorium worked,” said Jennifer March, executive director of CCC. After the moratorium went into effect, we saw a decline in the number of families with children coming into shelter.”

In addition, last year, New York City increased the value of its rental assistance program vouchers and expanded renewal eligibility which CCC also believes is behind the decrease in families needing to stay in shelters.

But the number of families with children in shelters might not stay so low, since New York’s eviction moratorium ended in January and funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program ran out in New York last November. New York Governor Kathy Hochul promised to put $800 million to help replenish the ERAP in her $220 billion state budget but March worries that it might not be enough.

“We likely will need more aid from the federal government to prevent a surge in family homelessness,” March added. “It’s critical that federal support prioritize funding for ERAP, section 8 housing, and rapid and subsidized housing to address this crisis.”

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