Nipped in the bud

BELGICA explains in Spanish why she is getting kicked out of the small two-bedroom apartment she shares with her two children in the Bronx, in New York City. Her husband was sent to Rikers Island jail in February, the same month that she lost her job at a local restaurant. She now owes nearly $5,000 in back rent, for which her landlord is hauling her to court. As Belgica tells her story, her hands rest uncomfortably on her swollen belly: her third child is due in a matter of days.

If Belgica loses her home, she and her children will probably end up in a homeless shelter. This would cost the city a bundle. By law, New York must provide emergency shelter to anyone who needs it, at more than $100 per night for a family. Families then linger for around 415 nights, on average, as placing them in new homes is both costly and difficult (landlords dislike tenants who have been evicted). When children become homeless, the secondary costs are higher, as studies show they are more likely to enter foster care, drop out of school and wind up in jail. With around 60,000 people now in shelters, up from about 38,000 in 2010 (see chart), the city is spending over $870m a year on emergency beds alone.