Homeless Clients and Libraries of New York, by William Jiang, MLS

Statistics are largely unknown, however, families are 78% of the homeless population in the city of New York (http://www.ysop . org / statistics.htm) Neither widely known to the public is that homeless people generally are loyal customers of NYPL. Often, due to the negative association in the mind of the public, most homeless people feel stigma when they use the libraries.

Ideally, libraries should be a haven for anyone who wants to read, a world away from the chaotic environment of the city. For the homeless who are not in shelters, NYPL can mean a safe haven from the city's shelters, many of which are dangerous.

In fact, the presence of homeless people in the libraries can sometimes create a problem. According http://www.crowbold.com/homepage/homeless.htm, "... there is actual conflict between the rights of the homeless and the rights of other users and library workers. Homeless can sleep with a snoring loudly enough to disturb the contemplation of other customers. For hygiene reasons, customers may feel uncomfortable handling of materials that the homeless have been handling. As a result Many librarians classify homeless people as "problem customers". "

Blacks and Latinos are disproportionately homeless in NYC, "Approximately 90% of homeless Yorkers are black or Latino, but only 53% percent of the population of the city are black or Latino." (Http://www.ysop.org / statistics.htm)

There is a disproportionate number of homeless Latinos compared with the general population of Latinos in New York. For this reason, the de facto use of libraries as temporary shelters should receive more attention from Latino leaders. There are a lot of inertia to help this marginalized population due to the common thought that this population is crazy, "... in the late 1970’s and early 1980's deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, along with a reduction in public housing, resulted in an increase in the population of homeless people .. "(http://www.crowbold.com/homepage/homeless.htm) Also, there is a single population increase of alcoholics and other drug abuse among the homeless as opposed to homeless families. (Http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/basic-facts) Few want to deal directly with this population problem.

Homeless people in the Latino population, whether in a family who is homeless or a single person with no home care in New York need smarter and better government. I think first, we must create safe havens for homeless families who are not struggling with mental health or drug abuse. Then the rest should be divided into three groups: the mentally ill, substance abusers, and the group is called MICA, which is composed of drug users with mental illness because these three groups have different needs. All homeless people who are taken care of decrease the desire to increase the number of people in prisons in New York City. It is not only humane thing to do, is economic to do, and think about the children! Approximately 50% of homeless are children! (Http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jan2004/nyc-j07.shtml)