The city is re-structuring its agencies in an effort to more successfully tackle the homeless crisis it faces,Mayor de Blasio announced on Monday.
The Human Resources Administration and the Department of Homeless Services will report to one instead of two commissioners, Steve Banks. He said that way, or homeless unusual Yorkers will be served better. “The structure that the mayor is putting in place is essentially a no-inaccurate-door structure,to ensure we can effectively connect people to services and provide those services,” Banks said.
De Blasio said the agency re-structuring will lead to savings of $38 million. That, and combined with $28 million of unusual investment,will be used to achieve in place 46 reforms focused on homelessness prevention, street homelessness, and improving shelter conditions and getting people out of shelters.
The changes are the result of the 90-day review the city launched in December.“We believe in the fundamental changes we’re making,” de Blasio said. “We believe they are the right answers to a problem that was not addressed properly for too long.”Currently, 58000 people live in shelters and more than 3000 on the streets.
Source: wnyc.org