Identifying a potential candidate for my city has become a conundrum of sorts. As a service provider in the New York City shelter system, I can’t help but wonder who will be the voice for the homeless New Yorker, whose face is becoming less prominent and phased out by Citi Bikes and sports arenas.
Which candidate will provide the assurance needed to assist the families who enter New York Cities DHS shelter system on a daily basis with the hope for sustainable housing and employment services and the assistance that they will need in order to reside in a city with skyrocketing rent and a disconnect to the families who spend all or most of their income on housing needs only?
With the proper care and services in place, there would be no doubt that our fellow New Yorkers would be taken care of and that any additional worries they may have they can simply fuggedaboutit! A reported 57,000 individuals, with 22,000 of the individuals being families, are counted as homeless on a reported daily census by DHS. These issues alarm me, because I work within the New York City Shelter system, and I personally see the families entering our shelter programs on a daily basis.
As a New Yorker I can tell you all about one of our candidate’s sextings romps, or why one of the candidates couldn’t care less about wayward stray kittens on our New York City subway lines, but what baffles me is that I can’t tell you about a candidate who can define a clear plan geared toward more affordable housing for families who don’t have middle or high incomes.
Have you checked out the latest affordable low-income housing lotteries? Is that even low-income housing within New York City? How about a pitch to service providers who work with distressed families day in and day out detailing a plan to enact an increase in resources for those families impacted by homelessness?
In the midst of a decreased sense of sustainability for our future, the challenges of our homeless families, and the buckling shelter system, there are people who have faith in the democratic system, and will utilize their right to vote in the hopes that their choice for the mayor of New York City will provide a better outcome for their families and children’s future than it has provided for them.
My long-term hopes and dreams from a provider’s perspective for a city that remains defined by its hustle and bustle and go-getter’s attitude is on the decline. I would hope that on November 5, 2013, the selected candidates will finally address and repair a city they will be sworn to keep and serve.
Robyn Boyce Brooklyn, N.Y.
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