Since Eric Adams’ administration changed shelter-in-place rules for asylum seekers, the city’s independent budget office has investigated the negative consequences of the new shelter exit policies.
“Where does it say that I have to be transferred to a shelter where I can cook your own food?, says Bonis Hernández.
In a previous interview with NY1 Noticias, Bonis Hernández spoke about the need to be transferred to a shelter with a kitchen to be able to care for her 5-year-old son who must undergo surgery for a respiratory problem.
Together with a group of applicants who live in the hotel The fifth in Brooklyn, they have until May 30 to find a place to live.
Off camera, she told me she still doesn’t have a housing voucher or a work permit. And they are not the only ones.
According to the city’s independent budget office’s report released last week, changes to the city’s shelter exit policies negatively impact asylum seekers.
Office Director Louisa Chafee says that during the investigation, the team focused on three areas.
“Transportation for students within the education department, two: potential health costs for people who are no longer in the shelter, and three: potential consequences for people who have the legal right to work, but who have not yet been duly processed to seek legal work here,” says Louisa Chafee, Director of the Independent Budget Office.
“Transporting children to school, the lack of medical care due to not being in a shelter and the lack of adequate processes to obtain a work permit…
The bureau’s analysts used data on the population of immigrants who have left shelters over the past six months. According to the research, the city will have approximately $1.7 billion in cost reductions for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
“More single adults and families are leaving shelters and this will bring the lowest cost projection for the city,” says Chafee.
The team spoke with several nonprofit organizations and found one major factor affecting those who need to leave shelters.
“They have to return to the shelter where they were to receive their mail because it is difficult for the city to provide a fixed address and that causes delays and even loss of legal processes,” adds Chafee.
The City’s budget estimate is larger than the IBO’s because it predicts the shelter population will increase significantly over the next year, especially over the summer, while the organization predicts the shelter population will remain at the level it has been for the past few years. six months or decrease due to exit policies.
