Anecdotally, my closest acquaintance in NYC public housing lived there because she is disabled, unable to work, and has no one to take care of her due to age. She has lived in the same public apartment for decades because she is dependent on the state. Her son fled the apartment after living there his whole life, because he cooperated with NYPD on a murder investigation and was threatened by the local criminal gang. Her only roommate now is her orphaned teenage grandson who is vulnerable to the gangs and has ambitions beyond his immediate circumstances.