Care For the Homeless

Last night Care for the Homeless celebrated the graduation of its second class of “CFH Certified Advocates”, adding new members to the Care for the Homeless Speakers’ Bureau. The program is open to volunteer client leaders who have been or are homeless and are consumers of Care for the Homeless health care or other services. Those recognized as graduating included Patricia Gale, George Phipps, Monica Sayers, Brenda Turner and Raymond West. Previous graduates who introduced the new graduates or spoke at the graduation included Calvin Alston, David Broxton, Ava Conner, Gayle Dorsky, Garrett McMahan and Anthony Williams. In order to graduate participants must completed 12 hours of training, half in homeless policy issue training and half in public speaking training. At the graduation each new Certified Advocate told their personal story, hooked that story to a public policy issue and advocated for better public policy on that issue. Certified Advocates become mem...

by Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy The New York City budget process moves along with continuing signs of improving homeless policy in the Big Apple. Since the De Blasio administration and Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor came to office 15 ½ months ago New York City has gone from no real tools to important programs designed to fight and prevent homelessness in the city. For example there was absolutely no subsidy or direct housing program to transition people from shelter to permanent housing in December, 2013. Today, with support of both the city administration and the City Council, there are 6 LINC (living in the Community) subsidy programs designed to subsidize that transition for over 5,000 households annually, and a targeted priority to move 750 families (the city actually exceeded that goal this fiscal year) into NYCHA public housing units that become available each year. Now the City Council has released its response to the Mayor’s preliminary budget submissi...

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 8 th , Care for the Homeless and Baruch College is sponsoring “New York Homeless Policy Forum 2015”, a  major policy symposium and public education event aimed at bringing people interested in homeless policy together to focus on how to produce better outcomes in New York’s homeless policy operation, do so more efficiently and move the city toward ending homelessness as we know it. The program, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., features top policy makers including New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor, Public Advocate Letitia James and City Councilman Corey Johnson. All the schedule details are listed below. Follow live tweeting from the Forum at #homelesspolicyNYC   Jointly Sponsored by Baruch College’s Narendra Paul Loomba  School of Management  and Care for the Homeless Wednesday, April 8, at Baruch College, Newman Library,  Room ...

“the right of every family to a decent home” by Jeff Foreman, Policy Director at Care for the Homeless Sunday, January 11, marked the 61 st anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s renowned “Second Bill of Rights” Speech, still remembered and celebrated by social justice advocates and those who work for better policies to fight poverty and homelessness. It’s interesting to recognize that FDR made his famous rights commitment not during the Depression, but at the height of the Second World War. In his State of the Union address that year the President argued it was time to commit to a new set of standards, a “second bill of rights,” that he referred to as an eight point “economic bill of rights”. Roosevelt included in his plan to assure equality in the pursuit of happiness an enumerated “right of every family to a decent home.” He also included “the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health” as well as rights like adequate...

On Monday, January 5 th , Care for the Homeless got together to discuss Mayor de Blasio’s first year in housing policy. The lively conversation covered the Mayor’s housing plan and recently begun LINC programs that issue rental subsidies to help people move from shelter into housing. Get up to speed on NYC housing policy and join the discussion during Care for the Homeless 1 st Monday Policy Briefings! Next discussion will be held Mon., February 2 nd , 2015 at 5 pm. Want to attend? Send us an email at policy@cfhnyc.org . 

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy For New Yorkers who lived through the ’80s and cared about helping people in need, the passing of former Governor Mario Cuomo, while not entirely unexpected, was personal.  One of only 5 Empire State Governors who served more than 2 terms in the last 175 years, among them giants of history like Al Smith, Tom Dewey and Nelson Rockefeller, Cuomo loomed large for a generation in the U.S. The first Governor Cuomo reveled in ideas, words and perhaps ironies. He was a near baseball star who would have traded his political celebrity for baseball stardom. He was thought of as the next-Presidential-hopeful, but couldn't quite convince himself to run. He was famous for a 1984 political convention keynote address he never considered a good speech, that inspires those who hear it today. He died on the day his son, our current governor, was sworn into his second term. Cuomo’s 1984 speech came at a critical time. It was the Reagan era, well into the ...

Photos by: (clockwise, l-r) Harvey Wang, Nancy Ribeck, Harvey Wang, Nancy Ribeck, Nancy Ribeck In less than 3 minutes, you too can change a life by donating to our End of Year fundraising campaign on  Crowdrise .  Six-year old Jake's medical record includes something that may seem unusual: a copy of his most-improved student award.  When his dad first came to the Care for the Homeless clinic frustrated and concerned about his son's hyperactive behavior, Jake was failing kindergarten. After his parents lost their jobs, the family fell on hard times and lost their apartment.   Jake's family has joined a group of more than 60,000 New Yorkers experiencing homeless every night. Unfortunately, his experience is not unique. Families like Jakes' now spend more than 435 days living in NYC homeless shelter before they can find affordable housing.  Your gift makes life-changing care for Jake and his parents possible.  Donate Now . Every $25,...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released its “2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress” estimating 578,424 people were experiencing homelessness either on the streets or in shelters on a given night in January, 2014. The information wasn’t surprising or really new, but it underscores the need to prevent, fight and end homelessness in New York City. New HUD Secretary Julian Castro pointed out the report indicates a reduction in homelessness across the U.S. of 10% since January of 2010. Unfortunately New York City hasn’t fared as well. The HUD report estimates 80,590 people experiencing homelessness in the Empire State on that January evening – about 13% of the entire national estimate – representing a 4.1% year-over-year increase and a 28.7% increase over the last seven years.  HUD reported 67,810 people experiencing homelessness just in New York City, meaning more than 1 in every 10 person experienc...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy Care for the Homeless client leaders, including members of our Consumer Advisory Board, recently completed a nonpartisan Voter Registration Drive that signed up 254 new voters, all eligible to vote tomorrow. That’s a CFH Voter Registration record. It breaks last year’s record setting drive success. Our client leaders have the satisfaction of having helped people to register and some great memories from the effort. They registered people with past criminal records who didn’t know they had the right to vote. In New York anyone not currently incarcerated for a felony or on active parole (people on probation have the right to vote) has the right to vote. They also registered people who were homeless and thought not having a regular permanent fixed address meant they couldn’t register. But being poor or homeless certainly doesn’t mean you lose your right to vote. At Care for the Homeless we believe poor policy choices helped create the evi...

785 of Our Homeless Clients will Now Have Their Basic Needs Met Because of your support, the  Toiletry Drive was a huge success this year, bringing in well over 7,000 pieces of toiletries! Thanks to donations from our caring supporters, Colgate, DNA Public Relations, Hope and Comfort, Inc., and more, we have gathered thousands of toiletries that will be distributed to homeless clients all over New York City. The College of Mount Saint Vincent students, participants of the TRIO program, have volunteered at Susan’s Place for two consecutive years. Yesterday, in a race against time, they broke their own record and assembled 785 toiletry kits, surpassing last year’s goal! Thank you for continuing to support Care for the Homeless. We can’t do it without you!     The College of Mount Saint Vincent TRIO Students at Susan's Place 

 For more information about the event--including this year's Honorary Co-Chairs--please visit our web site . To reserve tickets by phone, please call the Development Office at (212) 366-4459.

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy For the past year, Care for the Homeless client leaders and our certified client advocates have fought for extending a “30% rent cap” to all people living with HIV/AIDS in city subsidized HASA (HIV/AIDS Services Administration) housing programs. So it was with extreme pleasure that we got the word last week that the Mayor and Governor have jointly taken action to guarantee the 30% rent cap to more than 10,000 New Yorkers in HASA housing. Mayor de Blasio hailed the city-state effort, and so do we! Unlike most extremely low income housing and subsidized housing for poor households with disabilities, HASA housing never guaranteed a 30% rent cap. It always should have. Governor Cuomo said, “By implementing a 30% income cap for low-income renters with HIV/AIDS, we are protecting New Yorkers in need and making our communities stronger, healthier, and more compassionate for all.” Our client advocates spoke out for this most recently Wednesday mor...

Wow - we start the new year with our biggest and humblest note of gratitude. The final numbers are in, and thanks to you, we have exceeded  our 2013 fundraising goals. You, along with hundreds of other donors, collectively donated over $465,000, changing the lives of 8,000 homeless men, women and children. Thank you. As many as 60,000 New Yorkers are homeless every night, including 22,000 children . As a Care for the Homeless supporter, you know the demand for our medical, mental health and social services is often greater than we can meet.  More than 70% of the 8,000 clients we served in 2013 were first-time clients at Care for the Homeless, and many were newly homeless.  We have a crisis in NYC. Because of you, we have hope. The impact you made in 2013-and the investment you made in our services for the future-is critical in the fight to end homelessness. We can't wait to report back with even more good news in the coming months. Thank you, once again...

From all of us at Care for the Homeless, we wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. Thank you for your generous support and advocacy. You make our work possible  for over 8,000 homeless men, women and children in NYC every year. www.careforthehomeless.org

Meet Maria. A single mom living in a New York City homeless shelter, Maria says: "I'm here because of my kids." "My being here is the first step to getting an apartment," she continues. "Once I'm back on my feet, I can work on getting my kids back." Getting back on her feet isn't easy. For homeless New Yorkers like Maria, finding full-time employment with a living wage is next to impossible. Over 44% of homeless persons are employed. As the New York Times reported on September 17th, having a job, or 2, doesn't mean having a home. (Read our published Letter to the Editor response here .) "Work is challenging," says Maria. "I get $7.50 an hour, and it's part-time. Right now, I'm limited to 13 hours a week, but soon, I'm hoping to get 25 hours a week. I save 60% of my income right now while I'm in the shelter, but at this rate, it's going to take a long time before I can save enough to move ...

The New York Nonprofit Press has selected Care for the Homeless as its Agency of the Month this September. We’re thrilled and honored by this recognition. In this in-depth profile, the NYNP covers our organization’s past, present and future. An excerpt: “Care for the Homeless began in 1985 as a three-year demonstration project,” explains Bobby Watts, CFH Executive Director.  “Two large foundations – Robert Wood Johnson and Pew Memorial Trust – were trying to figure out ways to provide healthcare and social services to the homeless.  This was when homelessness was just beginning to explode all across the country … In New York, unlike many other cities, there was no one central ‘skid row’ where the homeless congregated. As a result, the CFH model proposed sending teams of health care providers to work with homeless men and women wherever they could find them all across the city.  CFH’s teams set up shop on a rotating schedule in shelters, soup kitchens, food ...

Meet Rosalind. A minister who fell on hard times and became temporarily homeless, she now lives at Susan’s Place . Two weeks ago, Rosalind organized a poetry workshop at the shelter, using poetry as therapy, reaching out to others in her situation. Rosalind volunteered to lead this one-hour workshop, called Suite Poetry , which teaches the art of poetry, incorporating styles from around the world. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as seven women read pieces aloud during the workshop. One woman wrote: I sat down one day to think How come I was born For since I’m black and known as a slave I’m worked till I’m tired and worn… This week attendance at the poetry workshop doubled. Susan’s Place is our 200-bed transitional shelter in the Bronx for mentally ill and medically frail homeless women. On average, women stay at Susan’s Place between six and nine months. Since the program opened in 2008, over 800 women have moved out of homelessness and into permanent hou...

Congress has been debating a farm bill in Washington to extend farm subsidies, price supports, federal funding for crop insurance and foreign food aid. But the bill that passed the Senate also includes draconian cuts to SNAP – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – usually called food stamps. The Senate version would cost $955 billion over 10 years, but cuts SNAP by $4.1 billion. The House version is much worse: it doesn't reauthorize SNAP at all, leading to the very real prospect of no food stamps program. SNAP currently serves more than 45 million Americans, many of them children, in nutritionally unstable families. One in five New York City residents, people living below the federal poverty level, is eligible for SNAP assistance, including about 30% of all kids under 18. SNAP puts food on the table for hungry families, providing a chance at a nutritional and balanced diet. Studies in New York City indicate every $1 in “food stamps” creates $1.80 in local econom...

"It's too hot!" That's what many New Yorkers are saying this week as the summer heat has descended on our city and made for a less-than-comfortable commute and a rush to get inside their apartments or workplaces to have a reprieve from the warm weather. But imagine you don't have either of those places to go and you are stuck outside in this heat. That's what's facing homeless New Yorkers this summer. We've compiled a short list of the items you may not think are needed but can make a huge difference in the day-to-day struggles of being homeless in the heat. Wash cloths  Most people don't realize just how important something like wash clothes can be for a person who is homeless. More than just for the shower, the ability to feel confident there isn't sweat dripping down your forehead is something we all want. If you are going in for a job interview, the last thing you want is to be worried about the heat causing you to sweat. Clothing Li...