Jeenah Moon for The New York TimesIn a tidy suburban apartment complex on Long Island, a Venezuelan mother of two surveyed her new home and declared herself blessed.
Sury Saray Espine and her family had spent 13 months in a homeless shelter in New York City.
Now, in early February, they were moving into a one-bedroom in Central Islip with a galley kitchen and access to a swimming pool.
Best of all, the state would pay their rent for a year, through a resettlement program designed to house 1,250 migrant families at a fraction of the cost of keeping them in New York City’s overflowing shelters.
The family’s experience, however, has been an anomaly.
Persons:
Sury Saray Espine
Organizations:
The New York Times
Locations:
Long, Venezuelan, New York City, Central Islip, New York