New York Spent $420 Million On Hotels For The Homeless

New York has spent a shocking amount of money on temporary housing for the homeless in the state. Homelessness in our state is a huge problem. According to a recent report by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, the unhoused population increased by 53.1% from January 2023 to January 2024, which is four times the rest of the country. The report states that the number of homeless children increased from 20,299 in 2022 to 50,773 in 2024. It's a shame that New York is not ensuring that children have stable and safe housing. DiNapoli blames rising rent costs and asylum seekers,

“New York has long had a housing affordability crisis, and more families are running out of options and ending up on the street or in shelters. Many of the tens of thousands of asylum seekers that came to New York had no place to stay and drove up spending and a large portion of the growth of the homeless population. But let’s be clear, this isn’t just a New York City problem, it is impacting communities all over the state. New York needs to examine how it’s using current housing resources while taking more action to address this urgent situation.”

Many of the homeless are being provided temporary housing in hotels, rather than shelters.

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Why Don't The Homeless Just Get Jobs?

Sometimes I really dislike people. Oftentimes, people have no empathy or understanding; they only offer judgment and despicable comments. Now, I'm not saying that the unhoused should not work and earn their keep, but it's not as easy as people think. Many have drug addictions or mental health issues that make it impossible to hold down a job until those problems are solved, if they can be. Aside from that, if you've never slept outside in the elements, you would never understand how chronically sleep-deprived it can make you. It's too cold or too hot, there are pests, you're not sleeping on a comfortable bed, and you have to constantly keep one eye open for thieves, cops, and depraved people who seek to torture the homeless.

Multiply that sleep deprivation by a few weeks, months, or even years, and your ability to process information becomes diminished. The average person with a safe, temperature-controlled, comfortable place to sleep usually loses cognitive ability within a few days of low-quality sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation,

"People with sleep deprivation, insomnia, sleep apnea, or other conditions that prevent them from getting adequate rest, short-term daytime cognitive impairment is common. Improving sleep quality can boost cognitive performance, promote sharper thinking, and may reduce the likelihood of age-related cognitive decline."

On top of that, many unhoused people find it hard to keep a communications device, like a phone or computer. I've heard many say that their phone got stolen by another unhoused person. Having no way to communicate will certainly make it hard to get a job. Then there is the issue of hygiene. How do you show up to an interview if you haven't showered, had a haircut, have no clean clothes, nevertheless professional clothes? And don't get me started on the issue of not having a permanent address and/or your important documents like a birth certificate, Social Security card, and photo ID. Transportation can also be an issue in some areas of New York without a good public transportation system.

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Keep in mind, in America (as of 2024), there were 32,882 homeless veterans in America, per Disabled American Veterans. There are organizations that help the homeless work through these things, but the guy currently occupying the White House seeks to cut federal funding to help the homeless. His FY 2026 budget proposal cuts $532 million in funding to help the unhoused, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In addition, he wants to get rid of $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The new federal regime doesn't seem to be interested in providing resources to help lower the homeless population.

New York Has Spent $420 Placing The Homeless In Hotels

Credit: Thomas P. DiNapoli via Youtube

New York Focus and ProPublica "found that the state’s social services agencies placed just under half the 34,000 individuals and families receiving emergency shelter outside the city in fiscal year 2024 in hotels — up from 29% in 2018." According to the organizations, outside of New York City, counties and cities around the state spent $420 million to shelter the homeless in hotels between April 2017 and  September 2024.

While one might think that putting unhoused people in hotels is a good thing, it isn't always. Unless there is a program set up to connect them daily or weekly with resources to help them with the challenges that caused their homelessness in the first place, it is just putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. People who are experiencing homelessness generally need other services to help pull them out of the hole that they are in, which shelters often have onsite or at least have a working relationship with. It's a catch-22 in New York, especially during the winter. Sometimes, there is no other option than to house people in hotels due to inclement weather. That's a short-term solution, but we need long-term investments that can actually solve problems, not just address symptoms.

What kind of society are we if we allow our veterans, the mentally ill, the disabled, the elderly, and children to be unhoused? We've allowed certain rhetoric in this country to make us miserable, selfish people with no empathy, care, or concern for the least among us.

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