Today’s Read: Poverty Should be Big News

In today’s over-saturated news cycles, let’s take a minute to remember that poverty should be big news. Over 46 million people currently live in poverty in the United States – the highest number recorded in all the time the Census bureau has been ke ..Read More

Today’s Read: The Stresses of Poverty

New research indicates that the stresses of poverty can have long-term negative impacts on children. Several years of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health found that high levels of stress hormones can inhibit the proper development of children ..Read More

A Life-Changing Experience

By Justin Friedman, Counselor, Camp Homeward Bound When I was thirteen years old, I hit a turning point in my life: I discovered music and playing the guitar. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t met a man named Joe Carbone who mentored me throu ..Read More

Fact-Checking: Blaming “Out-of-Towners”

In an attempt to divert attention away from the current lack of housing options, some folks are continuing to blame out-of-towners for current record homelessness and the strains on the shelter system. We have addressed this myth before, but let’s re-l ..Read More

Fact-Checking Longer Shelter Stays

Mayor Bloomberg shocked a lot of folks on Thursday when he blamed rising shelter stays on “pleasurable” shelter conditions. See the media response here, here, and here. So what’s really behind rising shelter stays? The numbers tell a different story. ..Read More

Today’s Read: Shelter System Under Strain

Record homelessness and increasing strains on the shelter system are not flying under the radar as perhaps Mayor Bloomberg would hope. Instead the problem is getting front and center attention from the media, advocates, shelter residents, and neighbors. Today ..Read More

Today’s Read: Social Impact Bonds

A new idea getting a lot of attention in the media these days is something called “social impact bonds.” From The Nation: Earlier this month, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the first-ever “social impact bond” in the United States. The bon ..Read More

Today’s Read: Working Full Time and Living in Poverty

Imagine working full time and still living $3,000 below the federal poverty line. This is reality for the over 600,000 New Yorkers earning minimum wage. These folks earn just $15,080 a year. In order to afford a two bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent, t ..Read More

Today’s Read: Solutions to Homelessness Within Reach

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Council member Annabel Palma, and our own Mary Brosnahan co-authored a letter to the editor in the NY Times today in response to an article on record homelessness. They are calling on the administration to enact the Cit ..Read More