Pathways to Homelessness Among New York City Families

Abstract

This article uses survey data to identify three pathways followed by homeless families in the period before they requested emergency shelter. The analysis groups 482 New York City families who were new entrants to homelessness into those whose longest residence in the year prior to the shelter request was as primary tenants in their own living quarters (43% of the sample), those who lived with others last year but who had once been primary tenants for a year or more (13%), and those who had never had a stable place of their own (44%). The demographic, social, and housing characteristics of these three groups vary significantly, indicating that homeless families are not a monolithic and homogeneous population. Consequently policies must be made specific to the needs of these families.