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Check out the VICE News doc on cities effectively criminalizing homelessness across America.
About a 20-minute walk from my own apartment in Astoria is the Westway Motel, a shelter that sits right off the bustling Grand Central Parkway, next to a famous diner called the Jackson Hole. When I visited, the first thing I heard was children's laughter—the Westway is a family spot, so the backyard functions as a communal playground where kids can run and play.Some windows were tied back by curtains; others, fully shut off from sunlight. I immediately thought of the story of Dasani Coates, a 12-year-old girl who lived in a Brooklyn family shelter, and the subject of a popular New York Times series in 2013. When Mayor de Blasio was inaugurated at City Hall shortly after the profile's publication, the child stood by his side, a symbol of the homeless crisis he faced immediately.School had just let out when I came through, and a few teenagers were returning home to the hotel. One was Elijah, a 15-year-old who'd been living at the Westway for four months with his family. He told me the city actually runs pretty responsive services there, especially when it comes to helping them look for permanent housing. And the rooms are much more private than in the Brooklyn shelter he and his family called home for six months. "There's more of a sense of a community here," he said. "People know each other."But even if it beats the typical shelter, Elijah and his family aren't content to stick around indefinitely."We're just trying to move out," he told me.Follow John Surico on Twitter.