For millions of Americans, the holiday season is full of ice skating, home baked cookies, Christmas carols; and the main causes of dread are over-crowded mall parking lots or stressful holiday gatherings. But for as many as 60,000 homeless New Yorkers, the holidays mean the start of a long, arduous winter. 

Holiday tunes start blasting from every department store window as the weather begins to reach uncomfortably low temperatures. Being unable to afford the perfect present for everyone on your holiday shopping list is disappointing, but being unable to afford a hot meal or a place to stay when the snow begins to fall is another problem entirely.   

New York is notorious for its vast income disparity—from Wall Street billionaires living in immaculate mansions to doe-eyed 20-somethings sharing one-bed room micro apartments—but the disparity becomes even more apparent come holiday time. 

As shops along Fifth Avenue invest millions in ornate holiday decorations and Rockefeller Center spends a small fortune buying and trimming its enormous Christmas tree, thousands of people line the streets beginning for just a few coins. 

The lack of affordable housing in the city is a major contributor to homelessness in New York, Los Angeles and many other big cities throughout America. Growing up without a stable home life—or any home at all—puts many more children and teens at risk of dropping out of school, homelessness, and incarceration later down the line. 

Clearly the answer to New York’s enormous homeless population is not simple, but the fact that homelessness in New York City is the highest it’s been since the Great Depression is certainly a sign that something needs to change. 

Contact Senior News Editor Sara Newman here and follow her on Twitter.