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Adult families entering the DHS shelter services system
Provide temporary emergency housing to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. — Ensure that individuals and families have access to emergency shelter and services.
Adult families entering DHS shelter nearly tripled from FY22 to FY25. DHS's Fiscal 2024 report specifically attributes a 90 percent jump in entries between FY23 and FY24 to the continued arrival of asylum-seeking families, and entries kept climbing another 15 percent in FY25 even as the agency worked to move existing adult families into permanent housing more quickly.
Researched July 15, 2026 — DHS, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DHS, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 598 families |
| FY23 | 777 families |
| FY24 | 1,479 families |
| FY25 | 1,706 families |
| FY26 (YTD) | Not available |
Why this is tracked
In Callahan v. Carey, a class action filed in 1979, a New York court ruled the state and city had a constitutional duty to shelter homeless men, citing New York's constitution. A consent decree finalized in 1981 formalized the City's obligation to provide food, shelter, supervision and security, and later cases, Eldredge v. Koch in 1982 and McCain v. Koch in 1986, extended that right to shelter to women and families. The Department of Homeless Services was created in 1993 to carry out this legal mandate and became an independent mayoral agency in 1999.
Callahan v. Carey - Wikipedia, The Callahan Legacy - Coalition For The Homeless
Source: DHS CARES Database — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: Adult families determined to be eligible for shelter.