Care For the Homeless

We are constantly inspired by the stories of real life heroes who have overcome obstacles in the fight against unstable housing. CFH is holding its sixth annual “Stories of Success” writing contest and we are looking for a 300-word story about success in overcoming a health challenge, in finding and maintaining stable housing or in advocating for better policies to fight, prevent or end homelessness. Contestants may also submit an essay about what they think success would look and feel like.   If you have a story of success – or know someone who does – please consider submitting it into our contest. All entries must be submitted with the author’s name and contact information. Submissions may be e-mailed to policy@cfhnyc.org or can be mailed or delivered to Nathalie at, 30 E. 33rd Street, 5th floor, New York, NY, 10016 by Friday, May 31 st . One winner will be selected by Care for the Homeless, will receive a prize and be asked to read their winning story at the CFH Su...

Join us on Thursday, June 20 th , at Broadway Presbyterian, 601 West 114 th Street in Manhattan, as Care for the Homeless (CFH), in partnership with Broadway Community, Inc., holds its sixth annual Summer Solstice Success Celebration recognizing the “ success stories” of New Yorkers who have overcome incredible obstacles while experiencing homelessness. The celebration will start with a meal at 4:30 p.m. followed by the program at 5:30 p.m. The event will recognize the achievements of New Yorkers who have obtained and maintained stable housing, overcome health obstacles and had outstanding advocacy achievements in the campaign for better policies to fight, prevent and end homelessness. We will also recognize our incredible CFH providers who have worked with our clients to achieve success. Also, the winner of CFH’s annual Short Story of Success Essay Contest, will read their submission. Join us for a celebration recognizing the success of our friends and neighbors. The c...

One factor that has increased the number of people experiencing homelessness in New York City is the eviction of low-income tenants from their homes. Historically, a low-income tenant facing an eviction proceeding in Housing Court was at a serious disadvantage compared to their landlord because of one very important factor, landlords always had legal representation. To counter this imbalance, in 2017, NYC became the first city to adopt the Right to Counsel (RTC), also known as Local Law 136, that established a right to free legal counsel in eviction cases. This major step forward in protecting low income tenants came after many years of advocacy by dedicated organizations and individuals supporting the rights of tenants facing the potential loss of housing. RTC provides tenants with household incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, $50,200 annually for a family of four , with no cost access to attorneys. Legal representation for an individual facing an eviction ...

January may be a slower month than the busyness of December, but the Care for the Homeless social services team was hard at work providing Medical Case Management services at 13 different sites in a total of 240 visits for 151 homeless clients.  Psychotherapy services where provided at two more sites with 27 homeless clients coming in for a total of 47 visits. In addition, during January, the Social Service staff collaborated with the CFH Health Education team and medical departments to implement pap smear initiative events at six sites. The staff provided a variety of services including PHQ9 screenings, Perceived Stress Scales (PSS) screenings and co-facilitated a workshop with the Health Education team on the barriers to accessing and engaging in medical treatment. Without the Social Services teams, a large sect of the homeless population Care for the Homeless works with would go without mental health counseling and would be unable to access treatment. Their role is critic...