New York City has constructed nine new shelters in the past two months to address a steep increase in homelessness, officials said.
The city’s homeless population has risen by 18 percent, or by more than 6,000 individuals, since last year. Two of the new shelters are located in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn and five in the Bronx.
The city Department of Homeless Services has come under fire for giving little notice to the communities where the shelters are being opened. The continuing effects of the recession and rising housing costs are both seen as contributing to the increase. DHS officials have also said that the termination of Advantage, a rent subsidy program for homeless families, has also sent scores of men, women and children back to the streets.
