A Growing Portion of the State’s Homeless Population Is Now Housed in Hotels and Cut Off from Traditional Supports
As hotels become the dominant form of shelter across the state of New York, outside of the city, lawmakers are considering a move to provide homeless families staying in hotels with the same services available to homeless families in shelters. This change would allow everyone placed in emergency housing to receive a similar level of support.
How Have So Many Ended Up In Hotels?
At one time, hotels were the last resort option for housing homeless people in New York state. Now, they’ve become the default solution in most areas outside of New York City. With hotel prices adding up to sums far exceeding market-rate rents, the state’s hotel and motel spending has tripled without much to show for the increase.
In fact, hotel accommodations were often dilapidated, overcrowded, and kept people cut off from services they would be able to access in shelters, like food assistance, childcare, employment services, and supportive staff. Hotel stays are extremely expensive, but don’t provide the services that help unhoused people get back on their feet, making them a poor value.
In 86% of cases, the state paid more to house people in these conditions than it would have cost for a 2-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. Half of the time, it paid more than twice that amount. Not a very good investment for a cramped space that might not even have a kitchen.
Hotels are no longer used as overflow housing for a small number of people during short stays. In 2018, 29% of the state’s homeless population was being housed in hotel rooms. By 2024, it was just under half. And while some counties say they’re providing shelter-level services to those placed in hotels, there is no requirement for them to do so, and a lot of people are falling through the cracks.
Adam Bosch, CEO of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress has said that New York’s temporary housing hotel rooms are, “less supportive, less conducive for good health outcomes, good education outcomes,” and went on, “If our ultimate goal is to get people moving back toward independence, sticking them in a hotel on a hillside away from services, away from schools, away from transportation networks is not a great strategy.”
What Services Would Be Provided?
Several services provided in homeless shelters are missing from hotels and motels. Family shelters are the most supportive, offering guests three meals a day, connections to health services, social services, recreational activities for the kids, and even child care services to enable parents to go out and work or look for employment. Individual shelters tend to offer a bit less, since children aren’t involved, with breakfast and dinner typically provided, as well as health and social services to help each person navigate their unique situation.
Hotels offer none of these things.
People placed in hotels regularly struggle with transportation to and from whichever hotel they’ve been shuffled to that week, feeding their families, and simply having enough space to spread out. In some cases, children and adults were forced to sleep 4 to a bed. Many feel that they’ve been shoved into subpar hotel and motel rooms and forgotten about, as they’re being kept out of sight, out of mind, and not being given access to the wraparound support they need to help them get out of their difficult situation.
Democratic Assemblymember Michaelle Solages supported the potential change, saying, “Everyone placed in emergency housing really should have a fair shot at stability, no matter where they’re staying. And so I definitely believe that the state needs to consider and make [the rule change] a priority.”
What Would the Proposal Change?
The proposal, currently in a 60-day public comment period before a vote, would codify several key improvements. First of all, it would require counties to enforce limits on overcrowding in hotel rooms and make sure that children don’t need to share beds with adults. It would also require each county to ensure that everyone placed in hotels has the ability to obtain sufficient food to meet their dietary needs.
Each district will also be responsible for inspecting hotel and motel facilities before they are used as housing and every 6 months thereafter. And, when deciding whether any given facility is suitable for use as temporary housing, the county must submit all of the following:
- a plan for providing case management services;
- a description of the public transportation available to persons placed at each hotel/motel facility or within a reasonable walking distance;
- a plan for providing assistance in making an application for public benefits, including, but not limited to, public assistance, Medical Assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Supplemental Security Income, or unemployment benefits;
- a plan for assisting persons placed in hotel/motel facilities to secure necessary supportive social and mental health services, including substance use disorder services;
- a plan for providing social rehabilitation services, including assistance in obtaining permanent housing; assistance in participating in employment assessments, job training, and job placement services, where appropriate;
- a plan for providing linkage to health services to persons placed in hotel/motel facilities, including any arrangements with accredited medical institutions, clinics, or providers for the referral for emergency treatment and care, and arrangements for providing linkage to prenatal care to pregnant persons;
- a plan for providing access to childcare services, as necessary;
- a plan for providing persons placed in hotel/motel facilities with meals (provided onsite, restaurant allowance, etc.)
All of these plans and more must be submitted and receive approval before a location can be cleared for use as a temporary housing site.
Hopefully, being connected to supportive services designed to help people secure stable, permanent housing will lead to shorter stays in hotels. That would be better for everyone — the people who have been living out of hotel rooms for sometimes months on end, and the counties who foot the bill.