STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Without the ability to sock away rainy day funds, 60 percent of New Yorkers are a paycheck away from homelessness, according to a new study.
More than half of all New Yorkers could end up homeless if they lose their job, are unable to work because of illness, or fall victim to a natural disaster, like a hurricane, that leaves them with nothing.
"It's (homelessness) happening more and more to what we would call the middle or working class," said Rev. Terry Troia, executive director of Project Hospitality.
"A lot of older houses are being sold for development here. People who were living in these homes or renting rooms, lose their place. And there's no place they can go for what they were paying. They might have been paying $1,000 for a one bedroom, and that doesn't work anymore ... What the borough needs is more affordable housing," she added.
NO EMERGENCY FUNDS
A recent Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development report revealed that 60 percent of New Yorkers lack sufficient emergency funds.
Staten Island's area with the highest rate of residents without emergency funds was St. George/Stapleton. A total of 52 percent of residents in the area lack a savings that can help them through hard times.
In the South Beach/Willowbrook area, 43 percent of residents are without emergency funds, the study says. And the area from Tottenvile to Great Kills -- often considered more affluent with higher rates of income -- still had 41 percent of its residents without a stash of emergency funds.
"People don't understand poverty. They think it's only people on public assistance or welfare. And that's not true. The overwhelming majority of people in our food pantries are working people," she added.
HOMELESS POPULATION GROWING HERE
As the cost of living -- with everything from food costs to rents rising -- Staten Island's homeless population continues to grow.
According to Department of Homeless Services' data there are more than 60,500 adults and children who frequent the city's homeless shelters.
On Staten Island there are 52 filled homeless shelter beds, and 1,300 Islanders living in shelters in other areas of the city, said Troia. She noted that the borough lost 60 homeless shelter beds this year.
MANY WORKING CLASS ARE NOT 'FOOD SECURE'
Another study conducted by Hunger Free America, formerly the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, found that half of all working-age New York City residents can't afford enough food.
"As rents rise, the cupboards grow bare. We need to find a path to livable wages and affordable housing before we can end hunger," said Troia.
According to the Hunger Free America report, from 2013 to 2015, 864,053 New York State residents lived in households that included at least one person working, but were still "food insecure" and unable to consistently afford enough food. Statewide, out of adults who were food insecure, 46 percent were working.
"Despite a slight hike in wages in the last year, New York state and city face an epidemic of hunger among workers," said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America.
"This shameful data is the latest evidence that the American dream is seriously at risk unless we change our current economic and political policies nationwide. Low wages are still the top cause of U.S. hunger and malnutrition. The good news is that New York wage hikes will soon provide food life preservers to New Yorkers drowning in hunger," he added.
Hunger Free America is calling on President-Elect Donald Trump to commit to ending U.S. hunger by creating jobs, raising wages, and ensuring an adequate federal nutrition assistance safety net. They also called on Trump to oppose House Speaker Paul Ryan's proposals to slash the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called the Food Stamps Program.
FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK