nbcnewyork.com / By Mathew R. Warren / March 5, 2013, 5:25 PM EST
The number of homeless people sleeping in New York City shelters has risen to a record of more than 50,000 people a night, according to a new report.
The Coalition for the Homeless released the report based on city data Tuesday, which stated that an average of 50,135 people per night slept in shelters in January, including 21,000 children.
The number is a 19 percent jump from a year ago when the population was approximately 42,000, and a 61 percent jump from a decade earlier when the number was under 13,000.
Homeless advocates say Mayor Bloomberg’s administration has not done enough to secure housing for homeless families.
“This is a tragedy of City Hall’s own making,” said Mary Brosnahan, president of the coalition. “Had Mayor Bloomberg simply followed the strategy of previous mayors of both parties and prioritized moving the homeless into permanent affordable housing, there would be thousands fewer families and children in our shelter system today.”
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