Report: Number Of Families In City Homeless Shelters At All-Time High

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- On the heels of a city report saying the number of people on the streets is at an all-time low, a new report shows the number of families in shelters is at an all-time high.

The number of families living in shelters is now over 12,300, WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reports. The record high was reached Wednesday, a day before the city announced the amount of homeless people on the streets was down 12 percent. 

Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is president of the homeless advocacy group Women In Need. She said the city has to build more quality shelters.

"To actually provide the safety and the services for the adults that they need to break the cycle of homelessness permanently," she told WCBS 880.

The previous high was in December 2014, when about 12,280 families slept in shelters each night.

The city's Homeless Outreach Population Estimate, or HOPE, indicated that nearly 400 fewer people were sleeping on the streets this year compared with last year.

But some homeless advocates said that number cannot be valid, since the survey only counts people visibly on the streets. They said the number discounts anyone spending the night in places like subway cars or all-night restaurants.