Community News
H I D D E N
Homelessness
Photo courtesy of the Floating Hospital
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I JUNE 2018 25
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Shocking statistics from the Floating
Hospital in Long Island City show that the
number of homeless youth enrolled in New
York City schools is greater than the number
of residents living in the state's capital.
According to statistics provided by
the Floating Hospital Foundation Inc.,
approximately 111,500 children in New
York City schools are homeless, which is
more than the 98,111 residents in the
capital city of Albany.
These statistics are part of the larger
issue of "hidden homelessness" that
plagues about 50,000 families in New
York City. Of those families, over 14,000
live in the shelter system and about
37,000 live "doubled up" with friends
and family in cramped quarters.
The Floating Hospital presented the
report during its May 16 educational
conference in midtown Manhattan. The
panel of speakers — including Sean T.
Granahan, the president of the Floating
Hospital and Iván Romero, the director
of the organization's homeless shelter
program — put New York's homelessness
crisis into perspective, while also
providing ideas for things that could be
done to improve the issue.
Their goal is to "draw attention to this
population" while demonstration how
appropriate programs can be responsive
to their needs.
Other speakers from the organization,
including Shani Andre, Igda Martinez,
Judith McAllister and Meghan Miller
covered several issues concerning the
"hidden homeless," like medical, emotional
and psychological issues they face
as a result of their circumstances.
According to the panel, the shelters
that the families inhabit fall into one of
several categories, many of which do not
have access to the basic amenities that
people need in order to survive like access
to social services or even something
as basic as kitchens with refrigerators.
As a result, homeless families often have
to subsist on ready-made meals or TV
dinners that do not provide them with
the nutrition they need. This leads to
malnutrition and anemia, or on the flip
side, obesity and hypertension.
In addition to physical ailments, the
homeless undergo a number of mental
and emotional issues, usually stemming
from the trauma of losing their home or
oftentimes domestic violence. According
to the organization, the homeless suffer
with high rates of mental illness: one in
three homeless adults suffer from diagnosable
mental illnesses, while schoolage
homeless children are 1.5 times
more likely to experience mental illness
when compared to their peers.
According to the organization's website,
the Floating Hospital started in New
York City in 1866. Since its inception,
they have treated 5 million patients and
remain the largest provider of primary
healthcare services to families living in
family shelters and domestic violence
safe houses. They serve over 61,000
people a year and see patients in 200
shelters per day.
For more information about the Floating
Hospital, visit their website at thefloatinghospital.
org.
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