In the city that never sleeps, Unreported World discovers a homelessness epidemic in New York’s shelter system made worse by the Covid crisis. Reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy witnesses the harsh reality of addiction, fear, violence and intimidation in a system that’s meant to be helping the city’s most vulnerable men, women and children. With one epidemic feeding another, there is now more homelessness in New York than at any time since the Great Depression, and it’s disproportionately affecting Black and Brown people. More than 3000 people live on the street, and at least another 60,000 in shelters, including 21,000 children. Krishnan meets people living in shelters who are as much as three times more likely to die from Covid than the general population of New York. He also speaks with the activists fighting to eradicate the alleged inequalities of a system – parts of which are accused of profiteering off public money.
Unreported World – Friday 7.30pm on Channel 4
