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DiNapoli Report Analyzes Increases in NYC's Unsheltered Population and Spending

State Comptroller Urges Increased Use of Outreach Data to Improve Shelter Placements and Outcomes

March 11, 2026

In a report released today, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli examined New York City’s expanded efforts to address the rise in its unsheltered (street homeless) population. The report recommends the city use the data it has collected through its expanded outreach, placement and services for the homeless to better explain where it has been most successful at moving people into permanent housing. Improving the efficiency of shelter placements is particularly important in the current budget environment as funding for street homeless programs is currently projected to remain relatively flat after Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the report noted.

“The number of people living on the street in New York City has continued to grow, even as the city has been effective at providing shelter for the majority of the homeless population,” DiNapoli said. “The escalation in spending driven by the increase in the unsheltered population, however, merits greater focus on where resources are going and what services are working. Street homelessness is a chronic problem that requires collaborative efforts to help bring vulnerable New Yorkers into shelter and out of the cold.”

As the only U.S. city legally required to provide emergency shelter to those who ask for it, New York faces unique challenges in addressing homelessness. Providing shelter to close to 97% of a homeless population that has grown 78% since 2019 to about 140,000 individuals, according to the city’s count — nearly double the homeless population in Los Angeles — is a notable achievement. The city’s approximate 3% rate of unsheltered homeless in 2024 (most recent data) is down from 5% in 2019 and second lowest among the 48 localities tracked by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). But even as the city provided shelter for more people, street homelessness continued to rise from 3,588 in FY 2019 to 4,504 in FY 2025.

The city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Street Homeless Solutions (SHS) division is tasked with overseeing outreach and related services to counter street homelessness. Spending on these efforts has more than tripled from $102 million in FY 2019 to $368 million in FY 2025, and is expected to reach $456 million in FY 2026, with planned spending declining to $442 million by FY 2029.

Lowering Barriers to Shelter 

The city has created “low-barrier” options – Safe Haven and stabilization beds – along with drop-in centers with showers to appeal to individuals who might otherwise be reluctant to go to shelters. These low-barrier options are meant to be a transitional first step toward more stable, independent living situations.

Accounting for spending on these services is difficult, however, because DHS has consolidated its costs with outreach and other expenses. DiNapoli’s report estimates the city spent $72.3 million in FY 2019 and $285 million in FY 2025 on services that potentially contain low-barrier beds. This included $106 million for 900 new Safe Haven beds, which would raise the low-barrier bed capacity to 4,900. From FY 2023 to FY 2025, the average monthly low-barrier census has increased by 484 people, or 18% (annual data begins in FY 2021).


Measuring Outcomes 

DHS tracks progress in reducing the unsheltered population using three performance indicators in the Mayor’s Management Report (MMR): 1) its annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) count of unsheltered individuals, which is required for certain HUD funds; 2) quarterly reports on how many people outreach teams referred to placement into permanent housing, transitional housing, or other settings; and 3) the average number of clients in low-barrier beds. All three indicators have been on the rise, but each has limitations.

The city’s annual HOPE count is often questioned because it only represents a point in time for a population that is constantly changing, and only counts homeless people in visible locations. Some critics have said it undercounts the population by as much as 40%. Greater utilization of HOME-STAT data and information on the geographic location of individuals counted may help identify areas with less coverage and improve outreach.

The number of people placed into permanent or transitional housing has increased by more than 400% from 2,146 in FY 2017 to 10,841 in FY 2025. Referrals to shelter increased significantly after outreach programs were expanded in FY 2023. DiNapoli’s report notes that while tracking the number of placements is useful, the public data does not differentiate between placement in permanent vs. transitional housing, and it does not follow up to record how long an individual stayed after placement. This additional data would help give a clearer picture of outcomes and their success.

The population in low barrier shelters averaged 2,100 a month in FY 2022 and grew to just over 3,000 a month in the first quarter of FY 2026. The report recommends the city publicly report pre-2022 numbers, before the unsheltered population began to rise, to allow better long-term tracking of outreach and placement efforts and their relative success in moving people toward permanent housing.

While outreach has increased, engagement and outcome data is not nearly as detailed as it is for those who exit shelters. Among its recommendations, DiNapoli’s report suggests the DHS and the city:

  • Increase information on the share of people who are engaged by outreach and refuse service to better understand the effectiveness of outreach strategies.

  • Track outcomes for people who accept referrals and are placed into housing, including how long they stay and the share who transition to permanent housing and remain housed over time.

  • Provide metrics on contract performance so the public can better assess how well DHS’ outreach and service vendors are doing, as well as the strength of the agency’s oversight. Ideally, this should include contract costs, timeliness of services after they are requested, DHS’ contract reviews and identified incidents of noncompliance with contract terms.

  • Show unit costs for hotels, low-barrier beds, drop-in centers and other shelter options to facilitate an assessment of the cost effectiveness of each option. Currently the MMR blends unit cost data. Similarly, DHS could provide more details on the specific type of housing people are placed into and specify in quarterly reports the average number who are in low-barrier beds and which type (Safe Haven vs. stabilization).


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