New York City, the biggest city with the highest homeless population in the U.S., spent an astronomical $3.5 billion on homeless shelters from 2014-2020. Yet, with all the financial investment, internet access in many shelters remains non-existent.
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi has taken notice, and on Nov. 30 the progressive lawmaker held a press conference at Fordham Plaza, where she was joined by Shams DaBaron, aka Da Homeless Hero, community leaders and other elected officials to push for passage of her Wi-Fi in shelters bill. The bill, if passed, would provide internet access in all homeless shelters across New York State. Currently, only family shelters in NYC have Wi-Fi access.
