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The price for child care is not just a financial burden, but it's become a direct pipeline to homelessness according to a sobering report by WIN, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for families in New York City.
"Right now, there are more children in shelter than there are seats in Yankee stadium, in the greatest and richest city in the world, that's nothing short of a sin," said Christine Quinn, the CEO and president of WIN.
To put it in perspective, Yankee Stadium is built to hold more than 46,000 fans.
According to a recent survey, 78% of families say they either had to quit their job, cut hours, or turn down a promotion because they could not find or afford child care. The survey received 96 responses from families with children living in WIN shelters.
"No parent should have to choose between caring for their child or earning a paycheck, but too many families are forced to make that choice everyday," said Quinn.
While WINS shelters provide childcare services, Quinn says they are limited with traditional 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. hours.
"We will stay later if we have to and often when you're homeless or starting work, you get the worst shift so 8-6 just isn't cutting it," said Quinn.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul visited with children living an East Harlem WIN shelter on Thursday morning.
They spent the week crisscrossing Manhattan, announcing the locations for the first 2,000 seats for the free 2-K program as they work towards achieving universal child care.
"We've invested over $8 billion over four years in a variety of ways to build up the infrastructure and the training and everything else we needed. I'm proud of that. I'm proud we're able to launch this 2-K program, which I think is just going to be life-changing for families, extraordinary. And we're continuing this effort statewide as well," said Gov. Hochul.
The report shows that 66% of responders say they knew very little about programs and resources available to them.
"New Yorkers who are residents of shelters in those communities will also be apart of the very new Yorkers we are reaching out too to make sure they are applying for this," said Mayor Mamdani.
With the demand far outpacing the seats available, advocates say concern shifts to the system and how families living in shelters will be competing with two parent households for the same seat.
"Our moms are well aware that the systems out there in society have not always bent in their direction," said Quinn "clearly in the lottery there is no preference for somebody who has two jobs and a roof over their head, their not given a higher point count or higher wait than someone in shelter, this is game changing even having these kinds of lotteries make an enormous difference."
The mayor says applications for the 2-K program will be rolling out in the summer. Their goal is to provide 12,000 seats next year and reach fully free 2-K for all 2-year-olds in the city by year four.
