The number of New Yorkers forced to spend the night in homeless shelters has reached 39,000, the highest number in 25 years. The main reasons for this are the economic crisis, unemployment, and Mayor Bloomberg's nonchalant attitude towards the problem.

"Some people mistakenly believe that only alcoholics and drug addicts come to us for help, but that is not the case at all," said Mary Kegels, who works at a shelter in Manhattan. "Just yesterday, many of our guests had jobs, housing, and enough money for a carefree life. No one is safe from life on the streets today."

Workers at the Department of Homeless Services and human rights organizations are doing everything possible to provide for anyone who does not have his own home, bed, or blanket.

"We did not expect such a sharp increase in the number of people living in shelters," admitted Jake Smith, who works at a shelter in the Bronx. "But I can assure you that however bad the situation gets, no one will be left to sleep on the floor."

However you spin it, the growth in the number of homeless is yet another blow to the reputation of the city's current administration. Bloomberg is spending millions of dollars right and left, but he is not devoting enough attention to people who live on the streets.

"I would like a politician to spend just one night in a shelter," said Edward Winston, a homeless man. "When I was a child, I had to sleep in a shelter when my father threw me out of the house. That was 30 years ago. The atmosphere in shelters has not changed since then, except that there are more people and more dirt."

Bronx resident Brad Stevens spent two weeks in a shelter when his landlord threw him out on the street for not paying his rent. "I was plunged into a totally different world, a world of poverty, suffering, and despair. I managed to catch scabies and a fungus infection before I was finally able to borrow money from an old acquaintance for an apartment."

Many homeless people complain about the unsanitary conditions in shelters, but New York health officials say that the living conditions are perfectly acceptable. "It's not a five-star hotel, but you can live in city shelters without fearing for your health," said health inspector John Hughes.

A large number of volunteers and representatives from nonprofits currently work in New York shelters. "People with big hearts work at shelters," said 54-year-old Harry Lemons, a homeless man from Brooklyn. "These people get paid very little or not at all. But this does not keep them from bringing us newspapers, clothes, and home-cooked food. Shelter workers treat us like their own brothers and sisters."

Associations that help the homeless predict that the number of shelters will increase. The number of people needing a roof over their heads may reach 50,000 as soon as October 2010.

"We are already seriously thinking about double-decker beds," said Matt Rodriguez, who works at a shelter in Manhattan. "Homeless people are a natural disaster for which New York must be prepared."