Heading into the new year, housing remains a personal and extremely challenging issue for many New Yorkers. While there have been moves made to address it, rent prices are climbing.

“I’ve slept in abandoned buildings and dirt basements,” said Behbinn Francis, who experienced difficult times as a teenager and never anticipated facing homelessness again.

“I finally found some stability in my late 20s, when I became married,” Francis said.

But about 15 months ago, the marriage unexpectedly came to an end.

“And literally within 24 hours, I lost half of my income,” she said.

Not being able to afford the apartment she and her husband were living in, Francis again faced homelessness.

“I went down to the Department of Social Services. They told me I’d have to go to a shelter, or be on the street in order for them to help me,” Francis explained.

Fortunately, a friend who had space took her in.

“I’m eternally grateful to have a roof over my head,” Francis said.

But it’s less than ideal.

“There is a no public transit area. The closest bus stop is an hour walk away,” she said.

Her story, unfortunately, is not unique. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness in the U.S. is climbing. There are about 653,000 people living without a home right now, 12% more than there were in 2022.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all because we see it every day,” said Maggie Fronk, CEO of Wellspring.

Rent in Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo has increased by 30%, 33% and 41%, respectively since 2011.

“We really see so many people struggling without housing stability because of the cost of rent,” Fronk said.

She has worked in social services for decades, and believes there needs to be bigger investments made in affordable workforce housing.

“We define the vibrant heath in a community by how we treat our most vulnerable citizens," Fronk said. "I think one of the things is to know that we need people of all incomes to support the economy of our communities.”

Francis has become an advocate for fair housing, fighting for different initiatives on the state level, like a Housing Access Voucher program.

“This would’ve changed everything for me,” she said.

As the calendar reaches into the holiday season, Francis encourages people to look beyond the stigma of homelessness.

“For every person that you see standing on a street corner holding a sign, there are a series of events that led them there. They need to be met with compassion and care right where they are, and not looked down on,” Francis said.