Care For the Homeless

Mark Woollett and Candace Clift are California natives – Mark hails from Orange, CA and Candace from the greater Sacramento area. But they met in Massachusetts, both acting in a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream . They moved to New York City in 2013, and as many artists who move here can attest, it can be hard to pay the bills while following your dreams. They keep their toes dipped firmly in the world of theatre by working at The Barrow Group Theatre Company and School, where Mark helps in finance and Candace works in school operations and teaches, in addition to several other jobs between them! Q.      How did you first learn about Care For the Homeless? A.      Mark heard an NPR story about a group in Boston that provides Medical care for the homeless and was inspired to see if a similar organization existed in New York City. A quick Google search brought him to Care For The Homeless, and he was impressed by its...

Comments from CFH Staff 1. Jeff Foreman, CFH Director of Policy and Advocacy:   I oppose the draft new Public Charge rule as bad policy and contrary to our American values.  It will be a calamitous health policy.  The published draft rule analysis notes on page 157 of the proposed rule: “Disenrollment or foregoing enrollment in public benefits programs by aliens otherwise eligible for these programs could lead to:  - Worse health outcomes, including increased prevalence of obesity and malnutrition, especially for pregnant or breastfeeding women, infants or children, and reduced prescription adherence;  - Increased use of emergency rooms and emergent care as a method of primary health care due to delayed treatment;  - Increased prevalence of communicable diseases, including among members of the U.S. citizen population who are not vaccinated;  - Increases in uncompensated care in which a treatment or service is not paid for by an insurer ...

 Help us keep homeless New Yorkers healthy and warm this winter! Every year, winter in New York City can reach below freezing temperatures with strong winds and snow, and no one should face an icy winter without proper clothing. A hat and scarf can go a long way to help a person's well-being. As the weather grows colder, CFH runs an annual Winter Accessories Drive to help keep homeless New Yorkers warm. This year's drive will be held from November 1 to January 31, 2019. List of Supplies Needed*: Hats Gloves Scarves Socks (Please, new socks only) *Sorry, we are unable to accept coats. We can only accept new or clean/laundered items. Drop-off Location: Care For the Homeless Headquarters 30 E 33rd Street, Fifth Floor New York, NY 10016 If you are unable to send winter accessories there's a ton of other ways you can help! 1.  You may make an online donation here . Simply visit our donations page and select "other" in the "Ple...

Care For the Homeless, along with 56 partner organizations including the leadership of Coalition for the Homeless, is advocating for the “House our Future NY” campaign asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to make available 30,000 new units of affordable housing for homeless New Yorkers by 2026, with 24,000 of these units to be created through new construction.             In 2014, Mayor De Blasio announced his Housing New York 10-year affordable housing plan aimed at creating 200,000 units of affordable housing. In 2017, he announced the Housing New York Plan 2.0, which increased the number of affordable homes from 200,000 to 300,000. This is in the midst of an ever-increasing homeless population fueled by rising rents in NYC, stagnant wages and the unavailability of affordable homeless to extremely low income New Yorkers. Currently there are 58,773 people in the City’s Department of Homeless Services’ shelter system, 21,639 of which ar...

On September 10, Care For the Homeless (CFH) hosted a health and wellness fair at Citadel Health Center in partnership with the Salvation Army Jamaica Citadel. The health fair, also known as, “Healthy Village” welcomed nearly 60 individuals, 63% of which were first time visitors of the health center. Healthy Village offered a range of  giveaways and children’s activities. Free screenings and services were also available at the fair including eye, hearing, and blood pressure screenings, flu shots, and pneumonia shots for patients 65 and older. There were information tables covering topics including healthy homes provided by C&T Homecare, Medicaid and Medicare information provided by United Healthcare, and volunteer support provided by WellCare. And the vision screenings were made possible in part by partnership support from the Lion’s Club International and the SUNY College of Optometry; and grant support from The Hyde and Watson Foundation. “Care For the Homel...

Before visiting the Health Center at Susan's Place (SP), Leonard found out he was ill with colon cancer. At SP, Leonard met Joy, who guided him on his journey to a healthier and happier self. Be sure not to miss our 6th Annual Health Empowered Beauty Fashion Show and Benefit! Proceeds will go to help Leonard and many like him. Seats are filling fast, be sure to secure yours here: http://bit.ly/HEBtix18!

Last week we recognized the 10 th Anniversary of Susan’s Place (SP) opening! To acknowledge this milestone, guests, staff and residents enjoyed a 10 th Anniversary Breakfast in the cafeteria. The event started with opening remarks by Care For the Homeless’ Board Chairman, Dan Baldwin, who introduced former CFH Executive Director and current CEO of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Bobby Watts. Bobby’s remarks remembered Susan L. Neibacher as his mentor and friend. In 2008, SP was named in honor of Susan who passed away in 2004. Susan was the first Executive Director of CFH and was responsible for leading the effort to bring the shelter into existence.   After her death, Bobby was appointed as the next Executive Director and made it his mission to see the project to completion.   Someone who also took a moment to remember Susan was Barbara Knecht, a member of CFH’s Board of Directors and a friend of Susan. Barbara remembered Susan as a leader and a bu...

In 2017, about two-thousand visitors to Care for the Homeless’ (CFH) clinics were known to suffer from asthma. Asthma is a lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . The disease causes recurring periods of wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing, which can be very frightening and painful. It may surprise you to learn that although it is a manageable disease, asthma is one of the leading causes of visits to an emergency room which is the most expensive form of treatment. But if left untreated, sadly, it can lead to death. This most tragic outcome can be avoided with proper treatment, care and knowledge.  This is why our Population Management and Staff Training (PMST) team regularly holds asthma education events at our health centers. The most recent event was held at Susan’s Place that included an education workshop and walk-in visits with the on-site provider. Twenty-two women visited...

Last week New York University’s Furman Center released its “Changes in New York City’s Housing Stock” report for 2017, showing the city’s housing stock isn’t equal to our housing demand, with the number of city housing units increasing by 19% since 1970, but not nearly as fast as population growth or demand. They reported, unsurprisingly, that rents have been increasing considerably faster than incomes.             Since 2000, the number of housing units have increased by 8.2%, but adult population grew by 11%, and the number of jobs in the city were up 16.5%. In those 17 years, median monthly rents increased $300, while income of renter households increased by $145. For newly built units between 2000 and 2010 the median unit rented for about $50 a month more than all other units, but by 2016, in constant dollars, that price differential increased to $400 a month. About 68% of New York City households rent their home, as compared to about one-third ...

In the non-profit sector, long-term partnerships are truly indispensable to our work. One example of this at Care for the Homeless is the support we have received from The Hyde and Watson Foundation since 2006. Recently, the Foundation awarded its second consecutive grant to our vision initiative that will enable many more patients who visit CFH health centers, to literally see their world more clearly. Our vision initiative was launched a year ago and thanks to our partnership with Lion’s Club International and their many years of experience screening children, we were able to check the vision of children in homeless family residences using the screening device they owned. The Foundation’s first grant to our initiative enabled us to purchase our own vision device and one that would allow screening of both children and adults. The Spot Vision Screener has been put to good use, screening more than 200 adults and children to-date. The Foundation’s second generous grant to our vision...

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a house farm bill that includes major changes to the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, that would decrease the amount of assistance nutritionally challenged people receive, make it more difficult to maintain eligibility for the program and place restrictive requirements on those receiving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.             Last Thursday the Senate passed a different farm bill with far fewer restrictions on SNAP, which means the farm bill, including the SNAP program will likely go to a joint House-Senate Conference Committee, which will attempt to arrive at a compromise bill that would then have to pass both the House and the Senate. Now is the time for interested supporters of the SNAP program to call their members of Congress, because provisions of the farm bill will begin to expire in September. This legislation includes subsidies ...

CFH Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Regina Olasin (left) awards Jordan Longet (right) On this year’s summer solstice, June 21, Care for the Homeless (CFH) and Broadway Community partnered to celebrate achievements of people overcoming the incredible obstacles of homelessness to find, obtain and maintain stable housing, and their achievements in overcoming major healthcare concerns in the midst of this most difficult circumstance. This was CFH’s fifth annual Success Celebration, an event invented by Care for the Homeless and observed this year in dozens of cities across North America. Over 225 people participated in the Success Celebration, which included live music and entertainment, a full meal open to everyone, an interactive “Wall of Success” activity, a program featuring story telling by people who had successfully overcome major obstacles while homeless in New York City and the presentation of “Achievement Awards” to 22 participants. The event also included the announcement of...

These reports generally confirm what we already know: there is an incredible and growing shortage of housing supply. This shortfall is dramatically affecting housing for moderate and low-income households, but far more devastating to extremely low-income households most vulnerable to unstable housing and homelessness. Unfortunately, much of the federal response would only make the problem worse. Last month the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held hearings in Washington on Homelessness in America. While advocates for people experiencing homelessness or unstably housed testified or submitted comments (as CFH did), legislation was introduced to make eligibility for federal housing subsidies narrower, regulation more stringent and mandating work requirements for more people. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has even recommended reducing the number of rent burdened households. By simply changing the definitio...

Nearly every day we read about the economy getting better, unemployment going down and the stock market doing well. But household income is lower today for the poorest 10% of American households than it was in 2007, over 43 million Americans (many of them children) continue in poverty and those households struggle to afford stable housing. There isn’t a single state in the union where there is an adequate supply of housing units for extremely low-income households or those living in deep poverty, and especially in urban areas homelessness is growing. A recent National Low Income Housing Coalition (CFH partnered with the NLIHC on many advocacy efforts) report documented, nationwide the supply of affordable housing for extremely low-income households was 35 units for every 100 households. Which is why 71% of those households (8.1 million households) are severely cost burdened under HUD’s definition, meaning they spend more than an incredible 50% of their gross household income on hous...