FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 24, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
LIC nonprofi t says homeless youth in NYC
schools outnumbers Albany residents
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@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.
Th ese 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.
Th e Floating Hospital presented the
report during its May 16 educational
conference in midtown Manhattan. Th e
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.
Th eir 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 oft en have to subsist on
ready-made meals or TV dinners that do
not provide them with the nutrition they
need. Th is leads to malnutrition and anemia,
or on the fl ip 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
oft entimes domestic violence. According
to the organization, the homeless suff er
with high rates of mental illness: one in
three homeless adults suff er 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. Th ey serve over 61,000 people
a year and see patients in 200 shelters
per day.
For more information about the
Floating Hospital, visit thefl oatinghospital.
org.
Photo courtesy of the Floating Hospital
Panel speakers at the Floating Hospital educational event on NYC’s “hidden homeless”
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