She Works in a Homeless Shelter, and She Lives in One, Too

Many employees of New York’s homeless shelters are themselves in precarious economic situations, taking on multiple jobs, working overtime and struggling to find their own homes.

At the end of a 16-hour double shift at a homeless shelter in Queens, Amber Drummond, a security guard, was desperate to relax. But Ms. Drummond said she shared a room with a woman who was messy and constantly on her phone. The room is in a Radisson Hotel. The hotel, in Queens, is another homeless shelter, where Ms. Drummond lives. She has lived in four different shelters since 2019, often working two jobs, while spending her days off searching for an apartment she can afford. She has looked at some 30 places across the city but said landlords had rejected her applications.