A tectonic shift may be underway on the way Queens residents feel about homeless shelters, if a new poll released Tuesday is to be believed.
In what is touted as the first-ever poll focused exclusively on homelessness, the poll reveals that 91 percent of borough residents agree that more needs to be done to combat the homelessness crisis and nine-in-10 believe that shelter be provided to all those who need it.
The new poll from Win, formerly known as Women in Need, and HarrisX shows that more Queens residents said they would support a homeless shelter opening in their own neighborhood than those who said they would not support it (46 percent to 40).
Win, New York’s largest provider of shelter and services to homeless women and their families, commissioned the March poll. HarrisX surveyed 1,002 adult New Yorkers from every borough, including more than 100 people from Queens.
“Until now, we thought there was a huge amount of controversy around solutions to the homeless crisis,” Win President and CEO Christine Quinn said. “New Yorkers don’t agree on much, but the poll shows that New Yorkers believe we should do more to solve the problem of homelessness and they are willing to do their part, in their own neighborhoods.”
Quinn, the former speaker of the New York City Council, added some advice for her former colleagues in government.
“Policy makers should take note that their constituents believe that more should be done and support a host of solutions that the homeless services community has been advocating for.”
QNS reached out to City Hall and the Department of Homeless Services and awaits a response.
Citywide, the poll showed a majority of New Yorkers, 59 percent, would support a homeless shelter opening in their own neighborhood.
