Shelter Skelter

How the Bloomberg administration will deal with the growing homeless family population has yet to be seen; new DHS Commissioner Linda Gibbs did not respond to City Limits' requests for an interview. But Giuliani left City Hall with a few quick-fix proposals to consider. In late December, DHS was considering implementing a furlough program that would pay a family up to $1,500 if it leaves the shelter system for two months. The family can return to the shelter system at any time during that period, and get back on the waitlist for space in a Tier II shelter, hotel or scatter-site apartment.

Critics of this plan say it would encourage families to double up, and lead victims of domestic violence to return to dangerous situations. "Paying people to go away for a couple of weeks does not address the underlying problem of a lack of affordable housing," says Steve Banks, the lead attorney for Legal Aid in McCain v. Giuliani, the major lawsuit seeking adequate shelter for homeless families. Should the city move ahead with this plan, threatens Banks, it could find itself back in court. At press time, Gibbs had yet to decide if she would implement the proposal. Banks, for one says he is hopeful for the future, having just been to the mayor's side of City Hall for the first time in eight years for a meeting with Gibbs.

Shantel Watson certainly could use some allies downtown. After seven months in a scatter site, she was moved to another temporary home, at a Tier II on the Grand Concourse. In late January, she was still waiting to hear whether she would get into a Section 8 apartment back in her home borough of Brooklyn.

Jill Grossman is a senior editor at City Limits.