New York City’s largest homeless service provider called Monday on all levels of government for aid as the migrant crisis rages on.
Women in Need—also known as WIN—says it currently houses some 270 families seeking asylum, in addition to over 700 children, and the nonprofit is being pushed to its breaking point. With so many asylum seekers in need of assistance, WIN asserts that it also needs help to provide warm clothes, food, translators, and legal assistance to new arrivals.
This appeal comes hot on the heels of Mayor Eric Adams’ visit to the Texas border over the weekend, something WIN CEO Christine Quinn applauded. Still, she also charged that organizations like hers need help in order to care for the influx of humanity.
“The migrant crisis is testing New York’s social safety net, but it did not start in the five boroughs — and Mayor Adams is right to see the situation on the border in person. I hope his takeaway is what the families at WIN seeking asylum have told me: they are fleeing violence and oppression, seeking better futures for their families. New York City has always provided immigrants with a chance for a new life, and we must continue to live up to that ideal,” Quinn said.
While Quinn says she agrees with the mayor that the city does require federal assistance in order to mitigate the crisis, she also charges that local government should not shrug off their responsibilities either. Quinn believes that the city likewise has an obligation to eliminate a longstanding process that hinders homeless New Yorkers from finding housing at a swift pace.
“While the Mayor is right that we need a national response to fix our immigration system, there is also more that every level of government can do today to improve the situation in New York City. I want to thank Senator Schumer and the New York Congressional Delegation for securing badly-needed funds that will help New York City respond to this crisis. Now, we need federal policy changes — including work authorization and access to benefits like food stamps — to ensure these newest New Yorkers can support themselves while their asylum cases are pending. At the local level, New York government must allow asylum seekers to use housing vouchers to move out of shelter, eliminate the illogical ‘90 Day Rule’ that keeps families from even looking for housing until they have lived in shelter for three months, and enact Intro. 522, which will provide all homeless families with the mental health care they need,” Quinn said.
Quinn assures that despite the difficulty, WIN will continue to respond to the crisis by providing aid for all those who come to their shelters as they keep urging members of government to respond to this issue with common-sense solutions.
