'Like jail': Shelters not the answer for NY homeless

Life on the streets of New York may be miserable for the thousands of homeless who sleep rough, but many are disillusioned by stepped-up efforts to eradicate a modern-day crisis.

The biggest and wealthiest city in the United States is a beacon across the world for financial success and entertainment. And yet 75,000 people are homeless, according to US government figures - the mentally ill, those who lost jobs in the 2008 global financial crash, employees who cannot afford skyrocketing rents, families and children.

Dozing on benches in Penn Station, begging on the street or curled up at the bottom of subway stairwells, the plight of the city's homeless is clear for all to see.