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Anyone with experience living within a NYC shelter, or anyone within social work in NYC please answer.

I am a childless F21 woman, born and raised in New York, currently experiencing homelessness. I start going to a CUNY this spring semester of 2026. At the moment I am couch-surfing, but come the new year that won’t be much of an option for me, especially because I will need to focus on my studies while I am also working. Would a shelter be an option for me? It’s to my understanding that people with children are prioritized when it comes to vouchers and certain benefits (rightfully so). Would it be better for me to keep hopping from house to house until I am in a place to rent out a room or would going to a shelter speed up the process of me receiving housing? Does anyone have any advice on what my next steps should be going forward? Or should I put off going to college for now to continue working in order to save?

Any resources would be helpful, I’ve looked into programs like Homebase but can’t find much info online.