Care For the Homeless

Did you know our street medicine team is part of a group that reduced the number of people living on the streets of the Bronx by 72% over the last eight years?  Your gift makes our work possible. Donate today. www.careforthehomeless.org THANK YOU.

Jeff Foreman, Policy Director Client leaders of Care for the Homeless observed Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on Saturday, the longest night of the year, memorializing by name over 90 people who died in New York City without homes in 2013, and recognizing hundreds and hundreds more. As each name was read a bell tolled, a candle was lit and that person’s name was projected on a wall. Several people were remembered with personal recollections and video presentations. Several audience members came forward with names of loved ones they lost. But the message wasn’t bleak, it was hopeful. Care for the Homeless Executive Director Bobby Watts told those assembled he had confidence. “Homelessness is evil,” he said, “but we can destroy it. We can end modern day homelessness as we know it.” State Senator Bill Perkins, whose Harlem district was the location of the event, said he “looked forward to a day of ‘ homefullness ’ when all people will have homes and healthcare as a basic human r

Level 3 is the highest level of national recognition.   We are honored to share with you that Care for the Homeless, which serves more than 8,000 homeless men, women and children every year, has been formally recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) at our main clinic site. Level 3 recognition is the highest level of national recognition a prim ary care practice can receive.   This recognition validates our commitment to quality. According to NCQA, the rigorous standards measured by the PCMH program raise the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology and partnership and coordination across the system. PCMH Recognition shows that Care for the Homeless has the tools, systems and resources in place to give patients the right care at the right time. Our generous supporters and advocates for our mission have much to be proud of given this recognition. With your

Jeff Foreman, Policy Director The client leaders of Care for the Homeless are working hard on their Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day program for this Saturday, December 21. We hope you’ll attend. Homeless Persons' Memorial Day Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 3:30 p.m. New Song Church 2230 Frederick Douglass Boulevard (8 th Avenue) between 120 th and 121 st Streets in Harlem  In the meantime the week leading up to the event has been exciting. Last week Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio appointed his Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, who   supervises the Department of Homeless Services among other agencies. The Mayor-elect and Deputy-Mayor designate Lilliam Barrios-Paoli immediately charted a course to radically reduce homelessness in New York City. If that wasn’t enough, de Blasio’s Chief Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris– his second in command – joined in calling the homeless situation in our city unacceptable and lamenting how we ever got in this kind of situ

Are you following the New York Times series on homelessness this December? Read Care for the Homeless Executive Director Bobby Watts' response in his Letter to the Editor . Learn more in this opinion published in the Gotham Gazette by Jeff Foreman, Care for the Homeless Policy Director. Child homelessness in New York City has risen 22% in the last year. Care for the Homeless is on the front lines, changing the lives of homeless men, women and children with your support. Thank you.

Once a year, on the longest, darkest night of the year, Homeless Memorial Day is observed.  The winter solstice was chosen for this observance precisely because it can be so bleak; reminding us of the bleakness of life without a home. Last year over 175 communities across the United States had some ceremony or program to mark Homeless Memorial Day.  You’re invited to join us this year in remembering people who died without a home in New York City and to hear about being homeless in New York City and how we can end homelessness as we know it. Please come to our H omeless Memorial Day program starting at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 21 st , at New Song Church, 2230 Frederick Douglas Boulevard (8 th Avenue), between 120 th and 121 st Street, in Harlem. We think you’ll find the program interesting and inspiring. It’ll include food, music, art, entertainment, and a moving ceremony remembering people who passed away in 2013 without a home in New York City. There will

From all of us at Care for the Homeless: THANK YOU! In the last year, Care for the Homeless served 8,474 homeless men, women and children , providing 33,627 clinic visits at over 30 sites. With your support, we responded to a 44% increase in demand for mental health care . Focusing on the most vulnerable, our street medicine team is part of an outreach initiative that resulted in a 72% reduction in street homelessness in the Bronx over the last eight years . Since we opened the shelter in 2008, over 900 women have moved from Susan's Place into permanent housing. Less than 8% become homeless again. Thank you for helping us change the lives of homeless men, women and children in NYC.

Care for the Homeless Observes World AIDS Day World AIDS Day has been observed across the world on December 1 st each year starting in 1988 (making this the 25 th observance). Care for the Homeless and our clients have been actively participating in it for almost as long.  On World AIDS Day we unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It’s a fight Care for the Homeless has fought for years. Our clinicians perform HIV testing. Our clients provide peer support and education. Our providers treat it and counsel those infected. Our clinics and health educators dispense information and education. We advocate for policies to assist in the fight.    World AIDS Day is also a time to remember those we’ve lost to this terrible disease. Worldwide over 25 million have been lost to AIDS. In 2013, Care for the Homeless lost two wonderful members of our client leadership boards. New York City has over 110,000 HIV cases. Modern Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy is effective in trea