We are always told that it is the richest city in the world in the richest country in the world but there are some homeless New Yorkers that would dispute that claim "A score of families gather daily in the courtyard of a city office in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. .. The scene is gentle. But it poses a growing challenge to Mayor Michael R Bloomberg’s strategy for reducing homelessness. Each of the families first came here to apply for a place in the city’s homeless shelters, a first step toward getting housing subsidies. They have all been evaluated and told they do not qualify because they have homes they can return to — most often the crowded apartments of relatives. . “The city is caught between publicly claiming everything is fine and the brutal realities of families and their children having nowhere else to go,” said Steven Banks, attorney in chief of the Legal Aid Society, who has filed a pending court complaint about the accuracy of the eligibility rulings. “It is a ticking time bomb.” (New York Times, 4 September)
A city that never sleeps according to the song but for some of its inhabitants a city where some have no where to sleep. RD
The Glasgow & Edinburgh Branches Blog. Towards a better understanding of the world, in order to change it.
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1 comment:
Recently Bloomberg announced his new plan to reduce poverty. He wants to "offer incentives to poor people to do things that can benefit them, such as attend school, get a library card or go to the doctor?". Maybe if non of those families freeze to death this winter he could give them 5 dollars.
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