Homeless crisis reaches epidemic in New York

Drugs and charity contribute to the problem

The Daily Mail reported that New York City harbors about four thousand homeless people and 80 different encampments. The figures put the city into a homeless epidemic that includes rampant drug abuse, which only adds to the growing crisis.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - According to the city's police chief, as many as 4,000 people are sleeping on the city streets.

The crisis has finally been acknowledged by Bill de Blasio, the city's liberal mayor, who has denied the problem for several months and claimed it was just a "perception problem." 

The huge number of people sleeping on the streets is also accompanied by a crime crisis and massive drug involvement.

Arrests in the city due to crimes like aggressive panhandling, exposure and public urination have declined since de BLasio was elected mayor, however  the lull in such crimes were the result of former NYC mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Some of the homeless people The Daily Mail interviewed said that they can make about $70 a day from panhandling, saying that it is the result of generous New York natives and tourists. 

$70 a day is almost the same amount earned by people working 8 hours a day at minimum wage. The ease of panhandling compared to working only increases the number of homeless people and makes it difficult for police to drive them off. 

Heroin can also be purchased at $10 a bag on the streets. The drug has become a favorite among the homeless. There are also some instances where people drop drugs and weed into cans the homeless hold out. This only serves to fuel drug-use to the point of reaching an epidemic.

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