Tirdof’s Bayit Campaign
A bayit, or home, is foundational to a person's ability to survive, thrive, and live with dignity, health and humanity in this world. But on any given night, tens of thousands of New Yorkers are sleeping in shelters and on the streets. Tirdof is partnering with VOCAL-New York, Make the Road New York, and the New York Immigration Coalition to pursue a caring and compassionate plan to bring all our unhoused neighbors home.
The Problem
2021 was the deadliest year on record for homeless New Yorkers, sheltered and unsheltered. Of the 640 homeless New Yorkers who lost their lives on record, 489 of those individuals were residing in shelters.
Since the spring, thousands of asylum-seekers have been arriving regularly at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, most of them Venezuelan families escaping the country’s economic collapse. Many lack ties in the city and have sought housing in the city’s homeless shelter system, compounding the city’s existing shelter crisis. The population in New York’s main shelter system broke a record set in 2019 after it exceeded 62,000 people in early October. Of that number, about 12,700 were migrants. New York officials say the influx of migrants could send the city’s shelter population soaring above 100,000.
The city’s response to the influx of asylum-seekers has been fragmented and reactive as the shelter system has become more strained. That’s because our city has no clear plan for how we will permanently house those living on the streets and in shelters, even as more and more new New Yorkers arrive each day.
Instead, we continue to see punitive solutions that only serve to further stigmatize and ostracize people who are homeless in New York City, and Mayor Adams proposes housing newly arriving New Yorkers in inhumane tent cities. Our elected officials have a responsibility and opportunity to address the homelessness and asylum-seeker crisis with care and compassion, not the same failed tactics that only cause harm.
On Yom Kippur, the prophet Isaiah exhorted us to “take the poor into your homes”. This prophetic cry defines the relief of homelessness as a religious duty, preferable to fasts, sacrifices, and other ritual observances.
We can eliminate homelessness in New York. It is unconscionable that in one of the wealthiest cities in the county, we have so many hundreds of New Yorkers without a home. We are fighting to house every New Yorker permanently and sustainably. Jewish communities are also affected by New York’s housing crisis. We’re joining with our neighbors to invest in real solutions that will save lives and benefit all of us.
Together, we are fighting to:
Use all available vacant housing stock, NYCHA units and vouchers to rehouse homeless New Yorkers.
Immediately end encampment sweeps & quality of life criminalization that target homeless New Yorkers.
Provide access to public, taxpayer-funded bathrooms in subways & in streets.
Provide safe and dignified shelter and other vital services to all New Yorkers, including new migrants.