NEW YORK — The local shelter might not always have enough beds, but the unmarried and childless homeless haven’t had to prove that it’s their only option when they show up at the door.
That could change under a policy proposed by New York City homelessness officials who want to begin turning singles away if the city determines they can rely on family, friends or other alternatives.
Caught between an unusual legal mandate to provide homeless shelters and a desire to preserve tightening resources despite increasing demand, the city’s Department of Homeless Services plans to interview single shelter applicants to make sure they haven’t exhausted other means of help.
It is a shift that critics worry could leave the city’s most vulnerable individuals — many of them struggling with substance abuse and mental illness — out on the street.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his top aides say they’re ensuring that the city helps only the truly needy. The approach has been in place for more than a decade for families.
The proposed rules have been challenged in court by the City Council and the Legal Aid Society. The city has delayed enacting them while a judge reviews the case.
The mayor has argued that shelter should be no different from other forms of public assistance such as subsidized housing that are given only to residents who qualify. Catherine An, a spokeswoman for the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said her organization was aware of no other governments with such a test for singles.
“The city is willing to reach into its pocket and make sure that nobody sleeps on the streets,” Bloomberg said shortly after the City Council voted Wednesday to sue. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re going to pay everybody’s rent.”
While tight budgets have forced many U.S. cities to cut government services, New York’s options are limited when it comes to homelessness. The city is legally obligated to provide shelter under court settlements reached over the past three decades.
Massachusetts is the only other government with a similar mandate, which is imposed by state law.
A growing need
In the last fiscal year, New York City placed 20,165 single adults in the shelter system for average stays of 250 days. That’s up from 17,635 four years earlier.
In October, the city’s daily shelter population count exceeded 40,000 people for the first time.
A city count estimates that more than 2,600 people live on the streets, but advocates think many more aren’t counted.
