CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (PIX11) — As temperatures plunge across the Tri-State, a familiar winter danger is resurfacing, the life-threatening conditions facing thousands of New Yorkers who have no warm place to sleep.
On Sunday, advocates and community members braved the weather for this year’s Winter Walk to End Homelessness in Central Park, hoping the cold itself would help send a message.
“We can end homelessness together — walking together, housed and unhoused,” said Samantha Colin, with Help USA, a nonprofit focused on empowering people experiencing homelessness.
Now in its third year, the event drew more than 500 participants, according to the organizers, the largest turnout yet. For many, including first-time walker Maritza Rico, the cold was a stark reminder of the crisis unfolding every night across the city.
“We do live in the richest city in the world, and everyone should have housing,” Rico said. “I walked by two people who were sleeping on the streets today. I believe we are at a point where we don’t understand why this is happening.
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, more than 350,000 New Yorkers experience homelessness each year, a number advocates say becomes even more urgent as wind chills drop into dangerous territory.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
Paulina Kusiak Daigle, Executive Director of Winter Walk, said the timing is intentional. “The goal of being out here in the winter is to feel for a brief second how it feels to be outside and be in the shoes of those who live on the streets during the hardest time of the year,” she said.
Affordability also took center stage. Nonprofits warn that thousands more New Yorkers are at risk of entering the shelter system simply because they can’t afford rent. “We have so many people right now who are living in shelters who are working,” said Dan Lehman, President and CEO of Help USA. “There are dozens of reasons why people become homeless, but just one reason they remain homeless, because there’s no reasonable housing they can afford.”
Even as the temperatures dipped early Sunday morning, students from Brooklyn Studio Secondary School showed up. “These kids are coming on a Sunday, cold at 9 a.m. I want to give it up to them,” said Vincent Monaco, Community Coordinator, Brooklyn Studio Secondary School. “We should practice humility and always help out.”
According to city data, about 80,000 people spend each night in New York City shelters, and tens of thousands of them are children. Organizers say they plan to keep walking, especially during the coldest months of the year, to make sure the issue stays front and center.
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