TheVoiceOfJoyce New York’s Homeless population has risen to over 65,000. Two organizations canvas the City’s subway system to get help to people, social services, mental health, addiction intervention, housing. Support SOS and the Bridge. They’re trying to get people to leave the subways for more permanent shelter and support.

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www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/16/the-frontline-scouts-fighting-to-end-homelessness-in-new-yorks-subways

Regardless of politics and police, it’s an SOS canvasser’s job, along with a host of other outreach programs, to try to reach out to the homeless. Clients are offered, in addition to mental health services and substance abuse treatment, permanent housing with ongoing support from case management staff.

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But it is not easy work.

“A lot of people we see are not interested in any services or the healthcare. They know there are two big hospitals down the block, a detox center, a needle exchange and big shelter. They have existed with chronic mental health illness for years. They’ve heard a lot of things, experienced a lot of things, and sometimes say they’d rather live on the streets,” Wilson said.

According to a report published last week by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, one in three had a mental illness or substance abuse disorder in 2021. The numbers are highest among the young. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, homelessness in New York City has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression.

The group estimates that in October, there were 65,633 homeless people, including 20,751 homeless children, in the shelter system. But that doesn’t count the number of people refusing to enter the system, which many consider more dangerous than being in the subways or on the streets.

“I wouldn’t say social services fell apart during Covid but they were strained in certain ways, and I wouldn’t argue with anyone who said the homelessness situation has got worse,” said Susan Wiviott, CEO of the Bridge and a veteran of several New York City social service agencies.

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