According to New York City’s Homeless Services Commis-sioner, Martin Oesterreich, "there are two groups of homeless people. One is a group of about seven thousand single male adults. This group," Mr. Oesterreich informed TeenSpeak, "typically has a history of substance abuse and/or mental illness. The other is a group of homeless families, in which the majority of the people have had housing problems, have left unsatisfactory conditions, or have had family conflicts."
The homeless turn to one of the 144 shelters in the New York City shelter system, as the "absolute right to shelter" is upheld by law. The group of single adults are aided by trained staff who help assess the underlying issues concerning their need for shelter and they also help to acquire professional help for those men with substance problems. Treatment programs and training for employment are integral to these shelters. For most family situations, the shelters are typically used as a more transitional refuge where families reside until they get themselves back on track.
According to Oesterreich, the recovery of a "normal" life is tough to measure. The best measure of success, he claims, is that the number of homeless people residing in New York City has dropped from 11,000 to 7,000. "We aim for success," Mr. Oesterreich said, however, he also admitted that success may take several tries for someone to turn their life around. "Homelessness," he contended, "changes with the times. During the crack epidemic, there was an increase of those who were living on the streets."
Whatever the frequency, Commissioners Oesterreich, Cammarata and Monges agree that one child or one adult on the streets is too many. "Kids, especially need someone to advocate for them," Assistant Commissioner Monges said. Monges’ concern is borne out as a mother of two. She recognizes how hard it is to raise children in today’s world. She stresses the importance of having a Drop in Center. "It’s a place where kids can come for help in solving problems as minute as a dispute about doing poorly on a test in school to issues as severe as domestic violence." All of the commissioners concur that the most important thing is to keep kids at home and involved in good, productive relationships with their parents.
The plight of the homeless is being addressed in places like New York City where single adults and families can find a haven off of the streets and can get help to improve the quality of their lives. So why is it that many still remain on the streets? It may have to do with the reported bad conditions in some shelters, and on the other hand it may have to do with the will of the homeless people themselves. However, if we learn anything from seeing someone who is homeless and needs help, it should be that these people are really the same as the rest of us. They, too, are striving to do their best in a world of competition and temptation.
