I love that song. “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere, New York - New York!” I have lived in New York City and after doing so I can honestly say that I understand what that song means. From the driving to the people, it is a place for the record books to say the least. During the time that I lived there, they had a transit strike. I’ve never seen anything like that. People were losing their minds. Anyway, now the homeless are being charged rent in some homeless shelters. I guess even homeless people have classes - poor homeless, middle class homless and rich homeless. The rich homeless must be the people who have no home but can afford to pay for one.

Here is a brief part of the article that talks about how the City is now charging homeless families rent.

The policy stems from a 1997 state law that hasn’t been enforced until now. Under that law, shelter managers started to require families to pay a portion of their income, depending on the shelter and family size, according to The New York Times. Residents could be expected to pay up to half their earnings.

Some shelter residents say the new rule will ruin their chances of saving enough money to get an apartment.

One single mother living in a Manhattan shelter tells the Times she got a letter saying she had to give up $336 of the $800 she makes each month as a cashier. Vanessa Dacosta makes $8.40 an hour at Sbarro. She got a letter under her door at the shelter a few weeks ago saying she’d have to fork up nearly half of what she was bringing in.

For Dacosta, who pays nearly $100 a week on child care for her 2-year-old, paying the shelter is hardly an expense she can afford.

“It’s not right,” Dacosta told the Times. “I pay my baby sitter, I buy diapers, and I’m trying to save money so I can get out of here. I don’t want to be in the shelter forever.”

 

Whose bright idea was it to do something so stupid? Someone who is living in a homeless shelter until they can save up enough to get a place to live shouldn’t be charged rent! They need help! This mom is struggling to pay her sitter and save. Why wasn’t this law enforced until now? How are these people supposed to better themselves AND pay the rent? If they could afford to pay rent, they wouldn’t be fucking homeless! This rule and New York City officials enforcing it are very, very stupid.
Read this stupid story here.