“We’re tackling the toughest part of the tough problem of homelessness,” says Commissioner Gibbs

March 27, 2003 – Commissioner Linda Gibbs today announced that data collected as part of the City’s first comprehensive effort to estimate the number of unsheltered homeless individuals in Manhattan will be used as a foundation for a new action plan to reduce the size of the street homeless population. The Homeless Outreach Population Survey 2003 found an estimated 1780 unsheltered homeless individuals on the streets and in parks and subway stations late last month. Based on the data, the Commissioner unveiled a series of new initiatives and strategies aimed at reducing street homelessness. These include an innovative new neighborhood-based pilot program aimed at transitioning chronic street homeless individuals directly from the street to supportive housing or residential treatment programs, as well as refocused outreach strategies that bring street-level casework to greater numbers of unsheltered homeless individuals.

“By surveying in the middle of the night in the middle of winter, we gained critical new knowledge about the population of chronic or service resistant people that we must find ways to engage,” said Commissioner Gibbs. “We’re tackling the toughest part of the tough problem of homelessness. Street homelessness has always been considered a fixture of city life, but with increased knowledge and targeted interventions, we can do something about it.”

Commissioner Gibbs was joined at the announcement by Roseanne Haggerty, Executive Director of Common Ground, and a leading provider of housing to homeless individuals. That organization is currently developing a neighborhood-based program that aims to reduce street homeless by 66% in the West Midtown Manhattan area. It will bring together neighborhood-based homeless, health and mental health providers to share information on chronic street homeless individuals with the goal of engaging and then assisting them directly into supportive housing or residential treatment programs. Commissioner Gibbs today committed DHS to facilitating similar efforts in at least two other neighborhoods where this approach can help.

“Common Ground is leading the way in identifying new, neighborhood-based solutions to chronic street homelessness,” said Commissioner Gibbs. “’Street-to-housing’ interventions present much-needed new ways to engage even the most service resistant individuals - and we’re committed to expanding the scope of this work.”

“Some individuals won’t succeed in shelters, or simply won’t use shelters, but they can be very successful in housing with supportive services,” said Common Ground’s Haggerty. “We are delighted that the City is embracing new models that focus on reducing chronic street homelessness community by community.”

Despite traditional thinking that a majority of street homeless individuals are located primarily in “high density” areas, the survey found the opposite holds true. Eighty-two percent of street homeless individuals are in other areas of the borough, “bedding down” in many areas not previously known or considered. Eighty-eight percent of the individuals were above ground; the remaining 12% were in subway stations. The survey did not include subway cars or tunnels, private establishments, or abandoned buildings.

“A key learning of the survey is that the population is dispersed throughout the borough,” said Commissioner Gibbs. “This new information will inform and improve our outreach strategies, increasing our success in bringing street-level casework to everyone in need.”

Other key findings from the Homeless Outreach Population Survey 2003 include:

• Thirteen percent of unsheltered homeless individuals are women;
• Fifteen percent of unsheltered homeless individuals are 55 or over;
• For every one individual identified in the survey, three homeless single adults are receiving shelter or other services in Manhattan; and
• No homeless families with children were found on the streets or in public spaces, affirming the long-held assumption that Manhattan’s street homeless population is defined by single adults.

Progress on two other related initiatives, both part of the agency strategic plan, were announced today. The Commissioner noted that significant progress has been made on the Criminal Justice Prevention and Diversion Program, through which DHS and local and state criminal justice systems are developing enhanced discharge and homeless prevention strategies for individuals leaving various criminal justice settings who might otherwise enter the shelter system or end up on the streets. DHS is also expanding Drop-in Center capacity, which will result in fewer individuals sleeping in public spaces. Drop-in Centers are often a first-step for service resistant individuals into appropriate housing.

DHS is currently working on plans to expand the Homeless Outreach Population Survey to additional boroughs, with the goal of producing a citywide estimate. Next efforts will also include subway cars, which will further round-out the estimate.