New York City's Homeless problem

Homeless in New York City

The numbers are brutal. The state comptroller’s office says New York City shelled out about $81,000 per unsheltered homeless person last year. That’s cash going into a system that still leaves people on the streets.

“NYC spent roughly $81K per person on homeless services last year: comptroller”

That per-person figure lines up with a total bill in the hundreds of millions. Spending on the Department of Homeless Services’ Street Homeless Solutions division has more than tripled since 2019. The unsheltered population went up too. More money. Worse results.

Think about that. You could hand someone a life-changing check with that kind of cash. Instead, tens of thousands of dollars are funneled through programs, contracts, bureaucracies, and vendors. The outcome? Folks still living on sidewalks.

Budget projections show the city may spend nearly $97,000 per street homeless person this year to fund Mamdani's expanded outreach and housing efforts.

This smells like an industry. And not a healthy one. When solving the problem creates steady jobs and big contracts, the incentives get twisted. Officials pat themselves on the back for big budgets. But the street count barely budges. It rises.

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