Care For the Homeless

The map at Care for the Homeless is about to change. Through a partnership with The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Care for the Homeless is giving new life to a Mobile Health Clinic, set to launch later this summer.  This program addresses two distinct and time-sensitive problems in NYC: meeting the health needs of homeless people and the need for greater disaster preparedness. Thanks to a generous award from Direct Relief , the required renovations on the Care for the Homeless Mobile Health Clinic were completed ahead of schedule.   The Mobile Health Clinic is a cost-effective approach to disaster preparedness—it’s not waiting in storage when catastrophe strikes.  And, according to Executive Director Bobby Watts: “Who better to assist in a disaster than Care for the Homeless? Our everyday work, in many ways, resembles disaster treatment. We frequently serve patients who arrive in personal crisis, without identification or medical records. We’re grateful to Di...

And Second Opportunities for Those Still in Need Each year on the day of the winter solstice in December, the “longest night of the year”, Care for the Homeless and hundreds of other groups across America observe Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day to remember those who have died during the year without housing and to recognize that better policies can end modern day homelessness as we know it. This past Saturday, on the occasion of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the client leaders at Care for the Homeless inaugurated a new event: a Summer Solstice Success Celebration. It’s an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the success people have had in overcoming obstacles to beat homelessness by finding and maintaining permanent, stable housing.  It also recognizes that with better policies every New Yorker who is unstably housed or on the verge of homelessness could have an opportunity for the same kind of “second chance” the honorees at the Celebration were able ...

Today, members of the NYU Naughty Knitters club, started by Jennie Tichenor in 2010, presented Care for the Homeless with a record-setting donation: 185 hand-knit and crocheted baby blankets Photo courtesy of Dean G. Mudgett, NYU Volunteering thousands of hours of time and creativity, the club has adopted Care for the Homeless, providing over 600 blankets since the annual program began. These blankets will be distributed at Care for the Homeless sites throughout NYC - in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens - to hundreds families in need. We thank the generous and talented members of the  NYU Naughty Knitters for this amazing donation!

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy New York City’s population is growing according to U.S. Census data released in May. Gotham recorded the largest census increase of any major American city, growing by 61,440 in 2013 census estimates, reaching a new high of over 8.4 million. America’s second most populous city is Los Angeles at 3.8 million, followed by Chicago with 2.7 million.     Unfortunately, New Yorkers also have the highest homeless population in America (the 2013 HUD estimate puts daily homelessness in New York City at 64,060, 11% of the total U.S. homeless census) and probably the highest unstably housed student population in America (using the definition of “lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence”) at 66,931 in the most recent statistics available.   Read more in this month's Policy Matters newsletter .

Housing Instability is catastrophic problem that directly impacts hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year; but there are great success stories of people who have overcome tremendous obstacles to find and maintain stable housing and a far better life.  Please join us for a Summer Solstice Celebration to celebrate the success of New Yorkers who have overcome homelessness. Download the poster for more details. Date: Saturday, June 21st  Time: 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Where: Broadway Presbyterian Church, 601 W. 114 th  Street (at Broadway) in Manhattan FREE! Our celebration will include music and entertainment, food and celebration, and of course stories of success. The winner of our first “Stories of Success” Short Essay contest will be there to read their winning entry. Every participant will have the opportunity to define their own success!  Our Summer Solstice Success Celebration recognizes not only success for individuals ...

After several months of planning and tireless hours of painting, volunteers unveiled a new mural at Susan's Place this past weekend. Covering 70 feet--spanning the length of the cafeteria at Susan's Place--this new mural, called "Moving Forward," was made possible through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity NYC's Brush with Kindness program. Are you interested in volunteering your creative talents for Care for the Homeless? Contact Angela Petriello at volunteerservices@cfhnyc.org or 212.366.4459 ext. 222 to learn more. Follow the mural's progress below: We thank all the volunteers who helped beautify this space. Susan's Place is a 200-bed residence for homeless women. Since opening in 2008, over 1 million meals have been served in this cafeteria.

In a moving moment during his presentation to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council conference on Friday, Care for the Homeless (CFH) Consumer Advisory Board Chairman David Broxton told conference attendees from across the country, “Care for the Homeless saved my life!” He was one of several CFH clients to attend the conference in New Orleans last week, along with several hundred CFH staff and clinicians, providers, administrators, clients and advocates from across North America. Broxton speaking last year on WWRL. Broxton was homeless and residing in a shelter 12 years ago when he went to a CFH health clinic. After a successful career in appliance sales, including operating his own retail store in Brooklyn, Broxton suffered a series of health and family setbacks leading to drug addiction and homelessness. At the lowest point of his life, and suffering depression and “not caring much” what happened to him, Broxton saw a CFH clinician and received a cancer diagnosis...