Safe, affordable housing is a human right. Unfortunately, accessing reasonable housing is becoming more difficult for New York families due to rising costs and limited affordable housing options.

According to a new report by the NYS Comptroller’s Office, homelessness in New York more than doubled between 2022 and 2024. New York’s rate of homelessness was higher than any other state except Hawaii. Locally, the number of people experiencing housing instability grew by 41%.

The affordable housing crisis has hit families especially hard. The number of homeless children in New York has grown significantly in the last two years from 20,299 (2022) to 50,773 (2024). Children under 18 years old now represent nearly a third of all those experiencing housing instability in the state.

Poverty can have devastating impacts on a child’s educational outcomes. Students experiencing homelessness miss more school and are less likely to graduate than their peers. In Monroe County, over half of homeless students are considered chronically absent, meaning they miss more than 10% of all school days. Nationally, the overall graduation rate of 86.5% drops to just 69% for students without permanent housing.

In a state like New York and a country like America, child poverty is a policy choice. Parents and advocates from across the state are heading to Albany on March 5^th to demand action to address this crisis. The Children’s Agenda, RMAPI, and our partners with the New York Can End Child Poverty coalition will be meeting with legislators to ensure commonsense solutions are included in the final NYS budget. Our recommendations align with those of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, namely:

• Increasing the State’s child tax credit to a higher amount and expanding eligibility to include more families
• Creating a state-level housing voucher program to reduce waitlists for assistance
• Reforming the public assistance program to increase allowance amounts and improve accessibility
• Expanding food benefits to help families with children not currently eligible for SNAP

New York State has committed to cutting its child poverty rate in half by the end of 2031. In order to meet this goal, policymakers must act now through bold investments in the 2025-2026 State budget.

Register here to join us in Albany: Register for our Anti-Poverty Advocacy Day: March 5th 2025

To learn more about The Children’s Agenda’s work on child poverty, click here: Child Poverty – The Children’s Agenda

Shannon Mullin is a Senior Policy Analyst with The Children’s Agenda.