Care For the Homeless

Empowering Patients, Forging Relationships Care For the Homeless Nurse Practitioner Joy Favuzza Care For the Homeless’ (CFH) Jackson Health Center sits comfortably in the eastern sector of the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood. Amidst the vibrant activity on the streets and sidewalks, is the hustle and bustle of the Bruckner Expressway and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, both of which are within viewing distance. Down below the pavement, the 6-train echoes loud and clear. To the building’s side is a colorful, lightly worn playground. Its many slides, bridges, and ladders provide the perfect setting for any kid’s imagination to run wild. But, on a morning as cold as March 13th, it was understandably empty. But, now as the weather begins to warm, it’s easy to envision those slides and ladders overrun, and teeming with laughter. The CFH Health Center is co-located in the Jackson Family Residence, a living space for homeless families. The site is operated by CFH site partner...

Small Town, Big Heart From Left, Team Members Lexi Flick, Ashley Stewart, Captain Tina Flick,   CFH Development Associate Brian Myers, and Themla Stewart. Sixty-five miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lies the small town of Rimersburg. Settled in 1829 and incorporated in 1853, the town is home to just a little under 900 residents. Small numbers haven’t prevented its population from making big, charitable impacts. Clarion County, where Rimersburg is located, hosts an annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s. This past year, the 20 teams and 147 participants managed to raise over $27,000 for their cause. Right at the top of the list of donors was Memory Lane’s Forget-Me-Nots, who raised nearly $4,000 of the total. The team is made up of captain Tina Flick and seven other members.  The biggest portion of that amazing total is raised in New York City. Flick and her team have been making the journey here for the past two years. This is a big feat in and of it...

The New York Homeless Policy Forum 2015, cosponsored by Care for the Homeless and Baruch College, will feature NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and City Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor, as well as leading advocates, policy-makers and clients. We are pleased to announce the following program of panels. Register today! Scope, Scale and Overview of Homelessness in New York City Serving as an introduction to homelessness in NYC, this presentation will include analysis of how many people are homeless or at risk in New York City, the context of the current crisis, NYC’s “right to shelter” and unique issues of homelessness in NYC.   Stigmatization, Criminalization and Attacks On Homeless People This panel will explore how and why we stigmatize homeless people and how the everyday activities of low-income and people experiencing homelessness are effected by stigmatization. Delving into societal attitudes towards poor and marginalized ...

  Join Care for the Homeless and Baruch College for the 2015 New York Homeless Policy Forum, a day of panels addressing issues in homeless and housing policy in New York City. Leading advocates, policy-makers, service providers and clients of the shelter system will discuss topics such as issues facing children in the shelter system, experiences of living in the shelter system and the low-income affordable housing market. Featuring special guest City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor. Have questions? Please email policy@cfhnyc.org Register here .   When? Wednesday, April 8th from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Where? Newman Library, Baruch College Room 750, 151 East 25th Street (bwtn 3rd Ave and Lexington Avenue) SUBWAY: N, Q, R (23rd Street) or 6 (23rd Street)       Please register to attend.    Light refreshmen...

To Save Human Service Programs for Homeless and Poor People Last week Care for the Homeless, and 2.100 other advocacy and provider organizations across the U.S., launched a campaign to fight “sequestration”, the automatic federal funding cuts threatening most human service programs in the coming federal budget. These cuts, set at 8.2% for most domestic discretionary spending, include cuts to health programs, housing assistance, child welfare programs, job training and on and on. Operating as NDD United (NDD stands for nondefense discretionary) this national effort contacted every U.S. Senator and House of Representatives member emphasizing the critical importance of these human service programs that serve our neediest neighbors, the harmful effects of budget cuts and the need for a strong domestic program as well as defense spending. The cuts an 8.2% reduction requires would be draconian. It would mean fewer people getting adequate medical care, less mental health care and...

By Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy At Care for the Homeless, New York City’s largest provider of healthcare exclusively to homeless people of all ages, we’re always watching public health statistics and city health policy. So we were pleased to see the city report a new record low infant mortality rate of 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births (for calendar year 2013) – which the city reports is down 24.6% since 2004. New York City’s improved infant mortality rate is well better than the national average, as is New York City’s age average life expectancy both for men and women. Which is great. But the figures also show a great disparity by race. The mortality rate for black infants is 8.3 deaths per 1,000 live births, more than two-and-a-half times the rate for white infants. The same kin d of disparities exist by neighborhood with the city’s poorest areas (like East New York at 8.4) having far more troubling infant mortality rates than more affluent areas (like Park Slope at 1.9)...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy Tomorrow, December 10 th , is Human Rights Day . It marks the 66th anniversary of the adoption of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Care for the Homeless joins in recognizing the fundamental human rights proclaimed in that document in 1948 including the right to housing. When the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it was a vow by the community of nations still standing in the shadow of the horrors of World War II. It was drafted initially by an 18 member international “Drafting” Committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, and eventually by a committee composed of delegations from 50 nations. When it was overwhelmingly adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, eight nations abstained but not a single country voted in opposition. The Declaration is based on the inherent dignity and equality of all people and the “inalienable rights of all members of the human family”. Among those fundame...

Yesterday, December 1 st , client leaders of Care for the Homeless (CFH) observed World AIDS Day at the CFH offices at 30 E. 33 rd Street in Manhattan. Members of the CFH Consumer Advisory Boards led presentations and discussions about services for people living with AIDS/HIV, current medical programs and advances and the New York State strategy to end the AIDS epidemic in the state by 2020. Clients, CFH staff and others in attendance heard presentations for consumer leaders including Calvin Alston, Gayle Dorsky and George Phipps. They lauded efforts announced by Governor Cuomo to end the AIDS epidemic – which he has defined as reducing new cases to the point where there is no net increase in AIDS cases in the state annually – by 2020. “That’s a lot of ground to cover in the next five or six years,” according to Alston, “but the Governor and the AIDS Task Force have developed a workable three part plan to do just that.” “As part of the Governor’s plan, advocates and act...

Care of the Homeless Remembers Lost Neighbors “I couldn’t believe it, when I first heard” CFH Client Leader Raymond West, said of the death of Miguel Durcio, the Bronx man who was attacked while sleeping on the steps of a church, simply because he was homeless. “He was only sleeping on the church steps because he thought he would be safe there.” Mr. Durio is gone but not forgotten- Care for the Homeless will remember his life and honor his memory on December 18 th , at 5:30 p.m., on Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, a national day of memorial for people who tragically passed away while unstably housed. Held with the NYC Rescue Mission at their 90 Lafayette Street location, our Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day program will feature a candle light memorial, a meal for those who are hungry, and a chance for attendees to remember friends on our Memorial Wall. People experiencing homelessness have terrible health outcomes compared to the housed population, with an age adjusted life exp...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy NYC’s New Rental Programs to Transition Families Experiencing Homelessness Last year Bill de Blasio famously campaigned successfully to become Mayor of New York City on the “Tale of Two Cities.” He spoke about the tragedy of low income people unable to get by or even find barely affordable housing in the U.S.’s biggest city. He promised, and along with City Council is now delivering, programs created to provide affordable housing and to address the expanding crisis of homelessness in our city. In addition to more and better programs to prevent evictions and homelessness (the best solution to homelessness is always prevention), the City has launched programs including priority targeting of a small number of NYCHA public housing units to families in the city homeless shelter system and three rental programs to provide partial subsidies to a modest number of homeless families in city homeless or domestic violence shelters if they can find a low ...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy Care for the Homeless was delighted to be included last week in a half-day roundtable discussion sponsored by Governing Magazine about “Creating Livable Communities” with about 30 of New York City’s leading policymakers, advocates, business people, union officials, academics and  elected officials. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito began the forum with a review of city concerns and programs. Other participants included the Partnership for New York City, AARP, the New York Housing Conference, the New York Public Library, and business, educational, transportation, healthcare, technology and public safety representatives. Other elected policy makers present included City Council Members Margaret Chin and Paul Vallone, representatives of several Borough Presidents and various state and city government offices including the city Department of Homeless Services. Governing Magazine has sponsored more than a dozen of these discus...

Care for the Homeless teamed up with actress Debra Messing, Curél®  skincare and Direct Relief to provide 500 personal care packs filled with basic hygiene supplies and skincare products to help homeless families in need at our health fair Tuesday in East Harlem. Award-winning actress Debra Messing delivers care packages to homeless  families at a Care for the Homeless Health Fair in Harlem. Debra Messing visits distributes care packages to homeless families. Curél® skincare sponsored the initiative to offer comfort to some of the most vulnerable women and children of New York City. Direct Relief, a generous supporter of Care for the Homeless since the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, helped launch our new Mobile Health Clinic, which allows us to deliver medical care to homeless people in need on a regular basis and also boosts our capacity to respond to future emergencies.  The assistance comes at a critical time. "Homelessness is going down nationwi...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy They call it the "poor door." It's a classic example of stigmatizing poverty. So much so it riled up New Yorkers this summer, and people are still talking about it. A Manhattan developer created a separate entrance for the 55 nonmarket "affordable housing" tenants in his 33-story, waterfront, luxury high-rise – hence, the "poor door." Most people may not have been aware of it, but this is hardly the first luxury development in the City providing affordable units through a poor door. Ugly demonstrations in Queens' Elmhurst neighborhood over a new homeless shelter at the previously vacant Pan American Hotel came replete with angry confrontations between community residents and children housed at the family shelter; name-calling and crowds grew so daunting officials interceded to take the homeless kids to a movie to keep them away from another protest. While it made for compelling summer TV viewing, it was just...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy Few things in life are rarer than real political courage. How often do you find political leaders, particularly elected officials longing to stay elected, standing up for locally unpopular issues at the height of their controversy? This is the province of unique experience, strange curiosity and genuine oddity. Yet at a time of dramatically increasing stigmatization of poor and especially homeless people, particularly in New York City’s Queens Borough where several new homeless shelters have or are scheduled to open, New Yorkers have been treated to an extraordinary show of bravery from political leaders speaking out for what is unpopular among their electorate seemingly just because it’s the right thing to do. That’s about as quirky as the Big Apple itself. In July, the City’s Department of Homeless Services opened a family homeless shelter in the defunct former Pan American Hotel in Queen’s Elmhurst neighborhood. It opened on an eme...

Your Partnership + Care for the Homeless = Success! 30,000+ school supplies were donated to our Back to School Drive, not only did you fill a back pack but you filled a high need!  There are over 80,000 homeless school children in New York City, and thanks to you they are prepared for the 2014-2015 academic year.  A very, very special thanks goes out to the employees at West Side Foods for donating 22 boxes of school supplies, 4 Kids in Need for a fun back to school event, the Institute for Family Health for their continuous partnership, and YOU our extraordinary supporters!  We are HONORED to count all of you among our generous sponsors, see you next year!  See more photos of our Back to School Drive supporters and the children after the jump.

Fill a backpack, fill a need! Did you know there are over 80,000 homeless school children in New York City?  Thousands of homeless parents are worrying about not being able to afford the items on their children’s school supply list.  You can help ensure that homeless children are not left behind or forgotten by donating much needed school supplies this summer. This small gesture creates an encouraging environment for academic success by building confidence for the new academic year. When: July 17 - August 22 Where: Drop off supplies at 30 East 33rd Street, 5th Floor, NY, NY 10016              or Susan's Place 1911 Jerome Avenue, BX.  Questions? Email Rosanna at  rmontilla@cfhnyc.org  or call 212-366-4459 ext. 202.  Thank you to our committed sponsors, West Side Foods, 4 Kids in Need, Institute for Family Health and all of our generous donors for inspiring homeless children.  ...

Jeff Foreman, Director of Policy Governor Andrew Cuomo, marching in the New York City Pride Day event on Saturday, committed New York to “bending the curve”on HIV/AIDS policies in order to “end the AIDS epidemic” and assure that those living with HIV/AIDS remain healthy He announced a three point program to “decrease new HIV infections to the point where the number of people living with HIV in New York is reduced for the first time.” The Governor’s plan, much of which has been advocated by Care for the Homeless, includes: 1.        Identifying persons with HIV who remain undiagnosed and linking them to health care (as CFH does through rapid HIV testing, diagnosis and treatment, every day); 2.        Linking and retaining persons diagnosed with HIV to health care and getting them on anti-HIV virus suppression so they remain healthy and prevent further transmission (CFH provides primary care to people living with HIV...