Date:   December 14, 2020

To:    GovernorAndrew Cuomo

From:  Elizabeth Palacios, Student of City College of New York

Subject:  Proposal for the improvement and assistance in homelessness during the pandemic.

PURPOSE

The spread of Covid-19 has left civilians homeless due to a lack of work. As the number of homelessness increases in New York, the higher the risk of more positive cases for Covid-19. I want to propose a program plan to assist people who are currently or will become homeless during the pandemic. Through the program, main objective is to diminish street homeless in NYC.

SUMMARY

As 2020 is about to end, the issues that have arisen during the year would not end unless further action is taken. I want to suggest a proposal for a homelessness program called Sleepers Shelters Program (SSP). The program will help people during the pandemic who have experienced homelessness ensure a safe place to live and quarantine. Although our main objective is to diminish homelessness, whether it’s temporary, episodic, or chronic, as of right now, we cannot let the number of people losing their homes continue to increase dramatically. The SSP will construct several buildings for the homeless, opening more shelters that are disinfected continuously, which would give people without a home a place to quarantine and dwell. As well as prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Instead of starting from scratch, I recommend remodeling abandoned houses or vacant buildings to carry out the program. The buildings need to be converted into sanitized shelter homes that could home people who live in the streets of NYC. The plan would hire qualified people. Any person who lives in the shelters and is looking for employment would be given an interview first; other applications would be considered. Workers would have to wear masks at all times and maintain 6-feet of social distancing. The shelters would provide essential needs, food, water, and a bed. Other utilizes would also be provided, such as a bathroom, right room temperature, ventilators, and soap/hand sanitizers. I want to build shelter homes that can help minorities experiencing unemployment throughout the pandemic. If we put our taxpayer money into resolving this issue, the community would be pleasanter to walk down the streets instead of disregarding individuals who are pleading for aid. Also, reducing the spread of Covid-19 is our primary consideration, and taking necessary action should be executed. 

INTRODUCTION

According to surveys of homeless civilians, the leading cause of homelessness, especially in families, is the lack of affordable homes. Aspects that contribute to the inability to sustain housing are eviction, loss of a job, inhospitably housing condition, and overcrowding homes. In New York City, about 57,341 people were sleeping daily in the municipal shelter system as of October 2020; 18,653 were children. (Routhier). The number of New Yorkers living in shelters is 50 percent higher than the amount of homelessness there was a decade ago, indicating the need for more additional assistance. As for street homelessness, thousands of people live unsheltered scattered throughout NYC, in the streets, subway carts, campgrounds, or other public spaces. (Routhier) The number of street homeless citizens is undercounted because of the failure to count every individual, resulting in an inaccurate measurement of the total number of people experiencing homelessness in New York City. The American Progress Organization has addressed the matter of undercounting homelessness in the census. (Lake) The 2010 U.S. Census undercounted minorities by about 2 percent and overcounted whites by 0.54 percent. (Lake) Majority of people who experience homelessness are minorities. An undercount in certain groups results in misrepresentation in Congress and a lack of federal and state resource programs. To conclude, homeless people are not acquiring adequate assistance. 

Homelessness has been increasing more throughout the pandemic. A study at Colombia University research has predicted that homelessness rose from 40% to 45% at the end of the year. (Lake). I want to propose a solution to decreasing the number of people who lost their homes due to an unemployment loss. Many of these people are African Americans and Hispanic-Latinx who are unable to file for unemployment. I want to create a housing plan for people who have been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City. According to the American Progress Organization, approximately 28 to 40 million Americans were expected to face eviction after the CARES Act’s expiration in July. (Lake)

THE SLEEPERS SHELTER PROGRAM

Our mission is to get every homeless person in NYC into a shelter home.The SSP would have to commence at the beginning of 2021. Like the CARES Act, a person can apply through using their NY ID portal or through a walk-in application. 

• The first step we would have to do is look at the statistic and plan to create more available homes than the recorded number of homeless people. 
• After we know approximately how many desired buildings the city would need to hold every homeless person, the construction of shelters would begin.
• We have established a workforce, hire workers to help run the program. Workers must be trained and meet a required criterion to be eligible. 
• As the homes are being constructed, recruiters should inform about the assistances through social media, mail, or conversations. Our goal is to recruit anyone that has gotten evicted or is already homeless. If a recruiter sees a homeless person, they should report it back to the organization. 
• The shelters should contain the supplies to maintain the buildings. The shelters are required to be sustained by janitorial workers continually. The workers have to disinfect and clean the room that the people are living in. 
• Throughout the program, the workers would have to help the people receiving aid attain a job and permanent home. The Majority of the job opportunities would be minimum wage.

Every applicate has a limited of 1 year in staying in the program. If a family or person can find employment, they can exist in the assistance program. If a family or individual needs additional time, they will be prioritized, and their extended stay would be six months. 

TASKS

Task 1: Perform Research

Studies have shown that 57 % who experience homelessness are African Americans, and 32% are Hispanic-Latinx, compared to the 7% whites. The program will focus more on minorities that cannot obtain other resource assistance, such as the CARES or PUA Acts. (Routhier ) According to research, more than 50,000 people sleep in shelters every night, while the other thousands sleep on the streets of NYC. To guarantee a home for every homeless person, we will build shelters for 100,000 New Yorkers. (Lake)

Task 2: Construct Located Buildings

For more shelters to be constructed, it would be best to remodel than to build. I recommend using Fairchild Design, as I know of a good friend that works there. Their contact information will be listed below, and they have 30 years of experience in remodeling buildings:

5030 98th St

Corona, NY 11368

+17186995250

[email protected]

http://www.fairchilddesignny.com/

The establishment should be long and tall to fit approximately 5,000 individuals. The building should have ten floors, and each floor should consist of 500 individuals. Every floor should inquire about two restrooms, one of each gender. In the bathroom, there needs to be several toilets and showers. A kitchen and a cafeteria should be on each floor. The people receiving the aid would each obtain a cubie in where their beds would be located. A total of 300 cubies would be for single-use, and 200 would be for families. The family cubies would be more significant than the single cubies. Since our goal is to eliminate homelessness, we will construct 20 remodeled shelters to maintain 100,000 people.  

Task 3: Hiring Process

The application will be held online through our website. The Sleep Shelters Program will allow anyone over the age of 18 to apply for the position. For a large project to successfully execute, we need about 400 employees, 20 workers for every building. Fifteen workers would operate the program; they are in charge of everyone in the shelter. The other five would be janitorial workers to maintain the building sanitized. 

Task 4: Obtaining Supplies

The program would not need any supplies and utilizes then the essentials. Supplies such as Purrell, soap, masks are crucial in helping to lower Covid-19 cases. Also, each home would be granted 15 ventilators if a person is to contract Covid. After an old guest leaves their cubie, their bedsheets will be replaced with new sheets for the following application. Food, water, and electricity would be provided in the homes. 

Task 5: Recruiting Homeless People/ Recording Data

Every person living on the streets would be taken into the program to prevent the increase of coronavirus. Each person enrolled in the program would be recorded to ensure a more accurate representation of people experiencing homelessness. The purpose for this is to show the drop in homelessness as the program continues; providing results in the shelters allows other supporters to fund the program. 

Task 6: Promoting Job Opportunities

One aspect of our program is to continue assisting individuals until they have a steady income. We aim to give people a chance to change their life. When we say we want to abolish homelessness, we meant for good. The Majority of the program’s job opportunities are 15 minimum wage jobs such as retail, fast food, restaurants, etc. We also offer positions to work for our organization; any homeless person interested will be given an interview to see if they meet standard requirements.

SCHUEDULE

	MONTHS
TASKS	Dec 2020	Jan 2021	Feb 2021	Mar 2021	Apr 2021
Perform Research
Construct Located Buildings
Hiring Process
Obtaining Supplies
Recruiting Homeless People
Recording Data
Promoting Job Opportunities

BUDGET

One Payment
Remodeling Buildings	$45,000	20 shelters	$45,000 for one shelter	$900,000 for all 20 shelters
Ventilators	$7,000	15 ventilators	$105,000 for 15 ventilators in one shelter	$2,100,000 for all 20 shelters
Beds	$300	5,000 people	$1,500,000 for one shelter	$30,000,000 for all 20 shelters

Weekly Cost
Workers’ Wages	$15/hour	40 hours	$600 per worker a week	$240,000 if hiring 400 workers
Purrell	$29.95/gallon	8 gallons	$240 for 8 gallons a week	$4,800 per week for all 20 shelter
Soap	$29.95/gallon	8 gallons	$240 for 8 gallons a week	$4,800 per week for all 20 shelter
Mask	$30/box	100 masks	$150 for 5 boxes a week	$3000 per week for all 20 shelters

Monthly Cost
Food	$10/person	100,000 people	$1,000,000 per month for all 20 shelters
Water	$3000	20 buildings	$60,000 per month for all 20 shelters
Electricity	$2000	20 buildings	$40,000 per month for all 20 shelters
Sheets	$5/person	100,000 people	$500,000 per month for all 20 shelters

CONCLUSION

As a city full of flashing lights, we cannot allow our neighbors to be ignored when pleading for help. I hope you can consider the proposal thoroughly and implement further steps into abolishing homelessness in NYC. We cannot pretend we don’t have an immoral homelessness issue. The assistance would create jobs for the homeless or anyone that need employment. The SSP would gather the homeless into a remodeled vacant building to allow them to renew their life. Funding the program would decrease homelessness while preventing the spread of coronavirus. 

REFERENCE

Jaboa Lake, Jae June Lee. “Count People Where They Are.” Center for American Progress, 5 Oct. 2020, www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/reports/2020/10/05/491122/count-people-where-they-are/.

“Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City.” Coalition For The Homeless, 2020, www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-new-york-city/. Routhier, Giselle, and Shelly Nortz. COVID-19 AND HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY PANDEMIC PANDEMONIUM FOR NEW YORKERS WITHOUT HOMES, June 2020, www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/COVID19HomelessnessReportJune2020.pdf