Homelessness is at record levels and on the rise in NYC, despite multiple administrations promising to address it. Recent press has raised the public profile of this “hidden” issue through investigations into terrible shelter conditions, which are extremely costly for taxpayers: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/10/28/hidden-city?currentPage=all, http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/invisible-child/#/?chapt=1. Meanwhile, the NYC Community Land Initiative, led by members of Picture the Homeless, is advocating for NY City and State to fund “Homes Not Shelters” https://indypendent.org/2014/02/25/homeless-folks-have-real-solutions-housing-crisis;http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/01/new_york_has_mo_1.php.– And are working together with people who have housing but are threatened by displacement to develop alternative proposals for need-based homes rather than market-driven housing and shelters. NYCCLI is trying to build a policy campaign around moving money from the shelter system into permanent homes, and to show how this could work in their people’s plan for East Harlem.  Can you help?

• Zumana Miyfa, Annalise Armenta, Omar Nagaria, Riley Tinney, Anna Kornak, Corrin Chow