Domestic Violence Fueling NYC Homelessness Crisis, Study Shows

NEW YORK — Four in 10 families in New York City's homeless shelters were forced there by domestic violence, the leading cause of the city's most persistent crisis, the city comptroller revealed Monday.

Many of those families struggle to find safe, permanent homes after fleeing their abusers and get caught in what Comptroller Scott Stringer called a "revolving door to despair" between two parallel shelter systems, according to a report his office released Monday.

"It’s hard to find affordable housing in this city, but when you’re dealing with trauma, trying to heal and take care of your children’s health too, it’s even harder," Stringer, a Democrat, said at a news conference.

Domestic violence drove about 12,500 people in more than 4,400 families to shelters run by the city's Department of Homeless Services in the 2018 fiscal year, the comptroller's report found, up 37 percent and 44 percent from 2014, respectively. That figure includes some 7,000 children, more than half of whom were younger than 6, Stringer's office says.

The families accounted for 41 percent of those who entered shelters that year, making domestic violence the most common reason for family homelessness, Stringer's report says. The second-leading cause was eviction, which 27 percent of families cited when they sought shelter, the comptroller's office found.

The city's Human Resources Administration runs special shelters where domestic violence survivors can seek help when fleeing abusive homes. But families can only stay in them for up to six months — after which many are forced into standard shelters without the same services or sensitivty to trauma, officials and advocates say.

Some 604 families left a domestic violence shelter for a regular shelter in the 2018 fiscal year — nearly twice the number that landed permanent homes with financial help from the city, Stringer's report found. Roughly 1,300 families found homes without any city subsidies, the report says.

Alida Tchicamboud, a domestic violence survivor and advocate, said the state-mandated time limit for the special shelters puts a squeeze on their residents. It takes roughly three months to get a city voucher to help pay for a new apartment, leaving survivors just three months to actually find a new home, she said.

"Six months, it's almost like six weeks. Time flies," said Tchicamboud, the founder of the nonprofit Healing Hands International. "... Even people who don’t go through the trauma, who don’t go through everything that survivors of domestic violence go through — it’s really difficult to find an apartment in New York City."

The onus is on both the city and state to make sure domestic violence survivors don't get trapped with their abusers or in shelters, Stringer and others said.

For instance, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration should work with the state to let survivors stay in domestic violence shelters longer than six months on a case-by-case basis, the comptroller's office says. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo should sign legislation to make it easier for survivors to end their leases and leave abusive homes, officials said.

But beneath all the wonky details is a dire need for more homes for the most vulnerable New Yorkers — which de Blasio has failed to deliver, Stringer said. He repeated his call for the city to triple the number of affordable homes set aside for homeless people.

"We will not reduce record homelessness without building more housing," said Giselle Routhier, the policy director at the Coalition for the Homeless. "... That’s going to help everyone who’s homeless, including the rising number of people who are fleeing domestic violence in their homes."

De Blasio's Democratic administration has implemented a great expansion of resources for domestic violence survivors that includes the addition of 300 emergency beds, mayoral spokesperson Avery Cohen said. The city's five Family Justice Centers have also provided nearly 19,000 New Yorkers with legal help and supportive services this year, according to Cohen.

"Domestic violence has absolutely no place our city," Cohen said in a statement. "... We will review the report to ensure we are doing everything we can to make our city safe for everyone at all times."