Care For the Homeless

A Break Well Spent After hours of studying for mid-terms and adding the final touches to projects, the most euphoric thing a college student looks forward to, is their spring break vacation. Many choose to indulge in the tranquility of warm beaches and enjoy cool, salty swims. Others opt for colder temperatures, flying on skis at breakneck speeds. And some simply enjoy the cozy comforts of home. A break is a break though, no matter how one chooses to spend it. The same cannot be said for those participating in a different option offered by many schools, known as Alternative Spring Break (ASB). Students partaking in these programs sacrifice their vacation, and instead, choose to spend their week away from school learning about timely and significant social issues. This past week, about a dozen students from Rice University in Houston, Texas made the 1,600+ mile journey to New York City, to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the intersection between mental health ...

Building Relationships, Earning Trust What do the West Indies, an Armadillo, a Dove, and Care For the Homeless (CFH) have in common? If you guessed the small island nation of Grenada, you’d only be half right. The other half of the answer pertains to Granada native, Dr. Sherill Purcell, who recently celebrated her 28-year anniversary with CFH. Dr. Purcell came to the United States when she was 21 and settled with her family in Kings County, Brooklyn, NY. She completed undergrad at CUNY-Brooklyn and subsequently graduated from New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. Her early years at CFH were spent at a family shelter in Brooklyn. Purcell now splits her time as a pediatrician between CFH’s Citadel Open Access Health Center in Queens, NY and her own private practice. Even now in 2019 though, after her long career in medicine, she’s still meaningfully influenced by her native roots; especially when it comes to working with underserved patient populations. Purcell commente...

A Partner in Health Vladimir Taub, NP Thursday, January 17 th was a frigid day. It bore the type cold that sneaks its way through all the nooks and crannies of your jacket and latches on tight, like gum to the bottom of your shoe. Immediately, you’re desperately rubbing your gloved hands together and pressing them to the sides of your head to keep your ears from going numb. On a day when the peak temperature was only 25 degrees, before the wind chill, you’d assume that most people would just stay in and do their best to keep warm. Unfortunately, not everybody has that luxury. Outside the Salvation Army Jamaica Citadel Community Center in Queens, NY, people lined the street as they waited for the food pantry to open. And even though the site didn’t open until 11 a.m., dozens braved the cold at as early as 9 to claim their spots. Despite the presence of warm jackets, hats, and gloves, the symptoms of cold, perhaps the flu, such as coughs, sneezes, and obvious flu/cold sym...

Right at Home Brooklyn native Dr. Nickisha Berlus began her career as a provider with Care For the Homeless (CFH) on November 5 th , 2018. Since then, she’s been practicing at CFH’s Health Center at the Bushwick Family Residence in Brooklyn, NY. There she serves families and children who are mostly under-insured or uninsured. As much as she loves serving her community, family medical care wasn’t always Dr. Berlus’ first choice. “I initially went into medicine to go into surgery,” Dr. Berlus reminisced, “but when I was at Robert Wood Johnson in Camden, NJ, I did the Hot Clinic Health Outreach program.” The program was designed for medical students to follow patients who were similarly under-insured or uninsured, to the various emergency rooms 1  and specialty clinics   they would frequent. Dr. Berlus commented, “It was my patient at the Hot Clinic that deterred my original professional route. I was in my 4 th year of school, she was in her mid-50s, ...

New York Homeless Policy Forum 2015 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 750, 151 East 25 th Street (bet. Lexington and 3 rd Ave.) 9-9:25 a.m.- Registration, Coffee and Networking 9:25-9:30  a.m.-Welcome-Introductions 9:30-9:40 a.m.-Presentation: Homeless Issues in New York City, Where Do We Stand? 9:40-10:40 a.m.- Scope, Scale and Overview of Homeless Issues in NYC This plenary panel will serve as both an introduction to homeless policy issues in NYC, and explore the challenges. 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 homeless in NYC and discussion of what we’re doing right and wrong. 10:50-11:50 a.m.- Panel:   Stigmatization, Criminalization and Attacks On Homeless People Pane...

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...

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 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 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 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...

Yes, ALL of you Donors like you make our work possible. This month, we wanted to say a special note of thanks, and then, we realized we had more than one thing to say.  Here are the top 5 reasons why we love you:  5.  Your support is critical, funding program expansions like our new  Mobile Health Clinic .     4. You  inspire  others to give, volunteer, and advocate.  3. You are  passionate  about transforming the lives  of homeless  families .      2. The impact of your support is felt in your  communities .    1.  You give more than money; you provide  hope  to  more than 8,000 homeless men, women, and children. Photo by Nancy Ribeck Thank you for making our work possible.

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 

On July 10, 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the   Municipal ID Law, creating a creates a municipal identification card that will be accepted by city agencies and give New Yorkers greater access to cultural, educational and commercial services. Care for the Homeless strongly advocated for the Municipal ID bill since its introduction. One of our client leaders, Anthony Wiliams, was one of 12 advocates who testified at the Mayoral Public Hearing the day before the law was signed and the only homeless advocate who spoke. Read his testimony below. Earlier this spring, Care for the Homeless testified at a New York City Council Hearing on the bill. Read more after the jump. Care for the Homeless Client Testimony Supporting Municipal ID Legislation By Anthony Williams, Client Leader Presented to New York City Mayoral Public Hearing,  July 9, 2014 My name is Anthony Williams. I’m a client leader with Care for the Homeless in New York City, an organization t...