Yasmin Cares for the Homeless



After constant disagreements with her mother, Yasmin found herself homeless. “I guess you could say things were a little dysfunctional growing up,” she said. Yasmin does not blame her mother for being homeless. “If it were up to my mom, I would have never left home, but I was rebellious, a lot. I would leave and always come back,” she said. It eventually got to a point where Yasmin’s mother ran out of patience. Yasmin decided to leave home with her two-year old daughter and move into a shelter. “I’ve been in the shelter for about a year now,” she said.
We need more people to care about homelessness.
When asked about her stance on the growing number of homeless people living in New York City, Yasmin said, “we need more people to care about homelessness in order for it to end. There is an obvious money issue in the fight to end homelessness.” She said if people can afford to give to the cause, they should. If they cannot financially afford to give, then they should try to help in other ways such as, advocating for better policies or volunteering at a local shelter. Yasmin is helping in her own way through Care for the Homeless’ Peer-to-Peer Outreach Program (PPOP).

PPOP, funded through the New York City Council’s Discretionary budget, is a program set in place by CFH to reach out to and connect with often hard to reach, unstably housed people, who might otherwise not have adequate access to medical and/or mental health care. This direct outreach gives them access to CFH health centers, assists them with making and keeping appointments, and helps them understand the importance of maintaining appropriate health care. Peers, who are currently or formerly people experiencing homelessness, are required to participate in 12 hours of training that they then utilize during their part-time employment for six months as Peer Outreach workers. The experience strengthens their workplace skill set and can help them land permanent jobs in the near future.

 Yasmin is happy to say she is finally standing on her own two feet and that she is very close to getting a place of her own. Our donors help make this possible! With your help, we can continue to provide high-quality health care and shelter to Yasmin and many other homeless New Yorkers, putting more individuals experiencing homelessness back on their own two feet.  Please consider making a gift today.


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