We Heart NYC: Improving the health of homeless New Yorkers

Alarmingly, homeless New Yorkers have a 1.5- to 11.5-times greater risk of dying relative to the general population, depending on age, gender, shelter status, and incidence of disease.

But the causes are changing.

According to this 2012 study by the NYC Department of Homeless Services, the top cause of death for both the NYC homeless population and the general population is heart disease.[1]  

Regular visits with a primary care provider are essential to identifying heart disease and helping homeless patients to manage this health condition before it escalates to crisis levels. Our comprehensive services to homeless New Yorkers include integrated healthcare—patients are connected to care through our shelter-based clinics, medical vans, and referrals in our transitional and permanent housing residences.

Prevention begins on the streets where our medical vans are providing critical interventions to assess patients’ heart disease risk: in the past year, we assessed 61% of clients for cardiovascular disease risk.  The vans are also reducing patients’ risk by helping them to manage co-occurring conditions which could lead to heart disease, such as smoking and high blood pressure. In the past year, our vans provided tobacco cessation interventions to 77% of patients and helped 60% of hypertensive patients to control their blood pressure levels.

________________________________

[1] NYC DHS. Bronx Health and Housing Consortium: Opportunities for Collaboration. Shared Approaches to Death Prevention Among Homeless Individuals. Dec. 2012

Update on construction (and art!) for new Bronx Boulevard Shelter

Construction is well underway and on time and budget to be complete by winter 2013!

The building will be a 108 bed homeless shelter for men with mental illnesses, and construction is 50 percent completed and on schedule to open in Fall 2013.

Director of Facilities Ernie Talbot with Philip Jenkin, architect.

Local Bronx artist chosen to create entryway sculpture

Linda Cunningham, an artist who lives and works in the Bronx, was selected to build a decorative wrought-iron grille for the front façade of the building.  It will screen the outdoor front entryway space from the street, and provide color and texture to the front façade. The grille is currently being fabricated by Linda and her team of student assistants, who are bending very long, 2” wide bars of steel into curved, organic shapes to look like blades of grass.  These curved bars will then be welded to rectangular frames to create four panels.  The panels will interlock when they are installed at the front of the building, and the resulting work of art will span around 23 feet. 

The ironwork will blend in nicely with the brick and stone façade, and the grille will last many decades because of the durable wrought-iron construction.  The grille will also define a welcoming border space by the front door for those going in and out of the shelter, defining the outer edge of a patio area with comfortable wood benches and a view to the street.

Artist rendering of wrought-iron grille design

Project Renewal HOPE Survey team takes to the streets

Project Renewal HOPE Survey team took to the New York City streets on Monday, January 28th alongside 3,000 volunteers gathered to count the men and women sleeping there. Starting at 10pm on one of the coldest nights of the year, these volunteers spread out to every corner of the five boroughs, covering 7,000 HOPE areas designated to them includingstreets, subways, parks and even alley ways. 

Organized by NYC’s Department of Homeless Services, the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) is a point-in-time estimate conducted every year citywide by the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) since 2005. The survey is conducted in January to produce an estimate of the total number of individuals living unsheltered in New York City. The count helps Project Renewal and other agencies better target healthcare, outreach, and housing services to respond to the needs of unsheltered men and women.

Thousands of volunteers are needed in order to effectively survey the city and gather the most accurate estimate. Many thanks to Team Project Renewal —led by Emily Brown, and including Catalina Gironza, Kelsey Petrone, and Lisa Raffetto, who successfully completed their three areas in the Financial District.

Across the ocean, the issues (and answers) are the same

A Dutch client shares his story with the group.

Even across the ocean, the issues facing homeless men and women with mental illness remain urgent and complicated.

A group of clients and staff from the Netherlands visited Clinton Residence and Safe Haven. This unique gathering allowed both groups to exchange knowledge, programmatic information, success stories, hospitality, recovery, treatment and friendship.

The room was filled with upbeat energy and lots of laughs as together they celebrated Clinton Resident client Benito’s 59th Birthday. The Dutch clients brought the gift of a special cheese knife from the Netherlands to share with Benito something unique and characteristic of their culture. With a large smile Benito claimed, “Living here gets better all the time.”

Bentoumi, a client accompanying the Netherlands group, is originally from Morocco  and here he serenades  the group with a song in Arabic. He said, “With big changes in your life you always need some people who help you further and give you the strength and motivation to survive during your recovery and reintegration process. With the help of others, you can change, move forward in your life.”

8 Facts You Need to Know about Housing First

1. Housing First emerged because early interventions—focused on services—weren’t seeing results. by the mid-1990s, there were over 40,000 programs addressing homelessness; very few of them focused on housing.
2. Housing First says something that is fairly intuitive—that people do better when they are stabilized in housing as soon as possible. Unstable housing impedes the effectiveness of interventions to address people’s problems. Homeless people themselves recognize this and generally identify housing to be their first priority.
3. It’s a 3-Step Process:1) Crisis resolution and assessment to address immediate problems and then identify housing needs. 2) Housing placement, including strategies to deal with bad tenant and credit histories, identify units, negotiate with landlords, and access rent subsidies. 3) Service connections to provide housed people with services, or connect them to services in the community.
4. It works most effectively for those who are chronically homeless. Chronically homeless people are those who spend years—sometimes decades—homeless. Most also have disabilities like severe mental illness and substance use disorders. Destitute, disabled, and with no place to live, they interact frequently with expensive publicly-funded systems such as jails, emergency rooms, and hospitals. Housing First can save public money as people reduce their use of these acute care systems.
5. Rapid rehousing is another name for a Housing First intervention used for families and individuals who become homeless for economic reasons.  It provides rent deposits and/or a limited number of months of rent assistance. Sometimes this serves as a bridge to longer-term rental assistance (such as Section 8 or even permanent supportive housing). Rapid rehousing strategies generally address services needed by linking re-housed households to existing services in the community, although direct services are sometimes provided.
6. At least among the highest need people, the cost of housing can be offset by significant savings to public systems of care. housing of high-need people may more than pay for itself in savings to publicly supported systems like emergency shelter, medical care, and law enforcement, and is a cost effective way to support children and families.
7. The structure of budget-making makes implementing Housing First difficult. Spending money on housing in order to save money on health care, incarceration, and so on, is difficult in a siloed public policy environment with annual appropriations. Savings in one silo (say, health care) do not necessarily accrue to another silo (say, housing). Those responsible for public budgets are not always persuaded by the argument that spending in one fiscal year would result in savings in another if they cannot access those savings to offset the initial spending.
8. To succeed, it needs the attention of those concerned with housing and health, not just homelessness. Housing advocates need to build new partnerships with the medical community and business leaders concerned about health care costs. These institutions are also, often, well-positioned in a community to lead or sponsor collaborative solutions, for instance pooling investments in housing and public health infrastructures. It makes sense for housing advocates to continue to build the case that housing is a cost-effective intervention that can improve outcomes in a host of other areas including health care, corrections, employment, and education.

http://www.shelterforce.org/article/2755/housing_first/

Holiday Party at Geffner House

More about Geffner House

In 1995, Project Renewal transformed the Holland Hotel, a 21-story/307-unit single room occupancy hotel, into Geffner House. Located on West 42nd Street in Manhattan, Geffner House provides apartments to 246 adults who qualify for housing subsidies, the large majority of whom are formerly homeless individuals coping with substance abuse, mental illness, and/or HIV/AIDS.  The remaining 61 units are fair market apartments.  Services for the mentally ill and recovering substance abusers include case management, psychiatric care, medical care, crisis intervention, recreational/socialization activities, skill development in activities of daily living, vocational rehabilitation, and assistance with entitlements and legal problems.

In Homes Now Holiday Decorating Party

In Homes Now residents visited the office on Thursday, December 20th for a holiday party. Mitchell Netburn, CEO, and Stephanie Cowles, Associate Director, also attended. The staff cooked and served the clients a great dinner and at the end of the party, the clients received a towel set purchased with the help of Director of Operations Judie Maron! 55 clients attended the event. Additionally eight residents came to the Holiday Decorating Party on Monday, December 3rd at the IHN Office. We all baked cookies, made ornaments, and helped decorate the tree.

Learn more about In Homes Now

Client Jose Taveras and staff member Carmen Nazario, Administrative Assistant.

Erin Blacik, Social Work Intern, and client Kenrick Ward.

Dress for Success Fashion Show at Fort Washington Men's Shelter

By: Jay White

This year our Christmas Luncheon featured a Dress for Success Fashion Show. The goal was to help the men know the importance of appearance for interviews and for self-esteem. They borrowed suits from our “Suit for Success” closet of donated clothing and visited our on-site “Barbershop Plus” for haircuts. As they walked the runway, the men were able to share a little of their plans and hopes and how a good appearance makes them feel.

See someone in need of help?

NYC Department of Homeless Services

Call 311 for:

• Information on accessing shelter services including directions to family and single adult intake centers, or
• Mobile street outreach services to request that an outreach team visit an individual in need
• Locate adult drop-in centers, including 24-hour drop-In centers and those open from 7:30am-8:30pm

Hunger Hotline

(866) 888-8777

• For a nearby meal or food pantry

Human Resources Administration InfoLine

(718) 557-1399

• Food Stamps and emergency food programs
• Public health insurance (Medicaid)
• Temporary cash assistance and benefits
• Domestic Violence Support

Project Renewal Progams

Medical Detox (8 East 3rd Street, 2nd Floor)

(212) 533-8400 x360

Crisis Center (8 East 3rd Street, 4th Floor)

(212) 763-0596

Recovery Center Outpatient Counseling

(212) 533-8400 x361

Next Step Employment Program

(646) 581-4433

• If you are 30 days sober have your caseworker fill out this referral form

Culinary Arts Training Program

(212) 533-8400 x130

• Call to receive an application

ScanVan Women’s Health Screenings

(631) 581-4171

• Provides free mammograms to low-income women without health insurance, also accepts health insurance
• View Schedule Here

Is Housing First the Answer?

In Homes Now is the first supportive housing project specifically designed for homeless people who are active users of drugs and/or alcohol. This year we break ground on 56 new apartments to expand this pioneering client-centered approach.

Called “Housing First,” our model program launched in 2003 at a time when there were no such housing options for homeless individuals with active substance use issues, who did not also have a serious mental illness or HIV/AIDS. Our housing first model works - 80% of our residents have successfully remained in housing for 3 years and 95% have a stable income.

This spring we will break ground on a new residence with 57 studio apartments on Villa Avenue in the Bronx, expanding the program to reach even more men and women who are shut out of traditional housing options. 

We will also expand out scattered-site apartment program to include 10 family units for the first time. This effort will support families where the head of the household is graduating from recovery (substance abuse). This innovative adaption of the program will include partnerships with scores of agencies in the community that are currently helping children and parents stay healthy and strong.

To learn more about Housing First and our success with the model, you can click here to download a report from CASA, the National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Here is an excerpt:

Yet despite growing national attention and its federal endorsement, Housing First models continued to represent a small subset of New York City’s supportive housing. The Housing First models that did exist were limited to individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. Pathways to Housing) or persons living with HIV/AIDS (e.g. Housing Works or Bailey House), and the Housing First model remained out of reach for the sizeable number of homeless individuals with addiction issues who had neither a serious mental illness nor HIV/AIDS.

It was not until 2003 that New York City would obtain its first Housing First supportive housing program for homeless individuals with active substance use issues, who did not have a serious mental illness or HIV/AIDS. In that year, Project Renewal, a provider of comprehensive services for homeless individuals, received a grant through the federal Collaborative Initiative to End Chronic Homelessness demonstration program, and used it to create 60 units of scattered-site supportive housing for individuals identified as chronically homeless who had active addiction issues. This program, In Homes Now, was New York City’s first Housing First supportive housing project specifically targeted at homeless people who were active users of drugs and/or alcohol.

The program was later incorporated into and expanded through the NY/NY III’s supportive housing for Population E.

Click here to read more about the report

Meet New Providence Women's Shelter

Meet some of the staff of New Providence Women’s Shelter, working tirelessly to keep homeless women with mental health and substance use issues fed, warm, safe, healthy and housed on their journey to permanent homes.

Residential Aide Jamell Coach and Program Aide Supervisor John Brown

Roberto Muyet – Asst. Building Manager.

Rasheda Smith – MTC Senior Case Manager.

Deanna Emezue – MTC Case Manager

Andrea Saunders – Housing Specialist

Chenay Aziz – Entitlement Specialist.

Assistant Director Lorraine Garcia and Program Aide Supervisor John Brown

Patrick Pierre – Clinical Director.

Sam Govorcin  - Recreation Specialist

Give HOPE this Season: Help homeless men and women find a new life and reunite with their families

Harry Dickerson was one of the homeless men you may have passed on the street.

“I remember there were times I would be on the train and I’d be so embarrassed because I was dirty. And I used to just look for a hole to crawl into.”

But when he reached bottom and decided to turn his life around, we were there for Harry because of gifts from people like you.“Project Renewal gave me a chance and stood next to me and they‘re still next to me.”  

Harry is one of thousands of once-homeless people who found ways to rebuild their lives through Project Renewal’s assistance with permanent housing, employment, overnight shelter, addiction treatment, and much, much more.

Next year thousands of homeless men and women will reach the same point that Harry did, mustering the courage to believe they can have more for their lives.

With your help we can be there for them like we were for Harry.

When Harry was only 11 years old, his mother suddenly died.  He and his brothers were alone.

They were forced to grow up too fast.  They had too few positive influences.  And sadly, his brothers couldn’t survive the streets … all three died young. 

By the time Harry turned to Project Renewal, he had already spent eight-and-a-half years in prison.  He was homeless and addicted to drugs.  

But he did not give up. In fact, Harry made it.  

Harry said, ”it’s not how you start out at the gate, it’s how you finish. Today I’ve been in my apartment three years, I’m in my 5th year with the job I’m at, I’ve never worked anywhere for 5 years. My job is important to me, I’m doing something, I’m being productive not just to society but to me. By me being good to me, it rubs off on society.”

Your gift today rubs off on society tomorrow. Please give generously and show New Yorkers like Harry that you believe they can do it.

Gratefully,

Mitchell Netburn

President & CEO

P.S. There’s still time to make a tax-deductible gift for 2012. Thank you for helping a neighbor in need.

2012 Annual Report: Renewing Lives. Reclaiming Hope.→

Our Annual Report has a new look! This is a great introduction to all that we do, and recaps all the achievements that your gift made possible last year. You also get to meet Harry Dickerson, an amazing man who has achieved so much through our programs.

Skip ahead to page 10 to learn more about the great plans coming up for 2012, and contact us to learn how you can be involved.

Gift a gift this holiday season and help homeless New Yorkers like Harry get back on their feet.

Helping our Neighbors During Super Storm Sandy

Your support of Project Renewal enabled us to not only continue serving struggling New Yorkers already in our care, but to step up and help our neighbors when they needed it most.

100 Bed “Pop-up Shelter” at Ft. Washington helps displaced storm victims

By: Awilda Morton

On Monday, November 5th the Department of Homeless Services asked us to have 100 beds ready. DHS supplied cots, our maintanence team supplied linens and Comfort Foods provided the food. By the afternoon of Tuesday November 6th the shelter was open and ready for evacuees from shelters damaged by superstorm Sandy!

It went smoothly and the visiting clients used our cafeteria and common areas and we made caseworkers available to them. By Sunday everyone was able to return.

Economic Development Corporation

By: Fred Hornedo, Assistant Supervisor, Graffiti Removal

We were on standby for the storm and then after the storm hit we started to get phone calls from the people who were hit—Staten Island, Far Rockaway. We were just waiting for the word on whether they needed help. So they said get the trucks ready and fill them all up with fuel.The city mobilized the EDC teams to respond to the most devastated areas. Project Renewal had about 20-30 guys with 9 trucks plus supervisor vehicles.

When we got out there it was really bad—no power, no heat, water everywhere. It looked awful— like a disaster area.The residents had no power to run their pumps. By giving a hand we let people plug into the generators on our trucks out there with power strips plus extension cords running lines into people’s houses. Many people needed to use them to charge their cell phones so they could contact loved ones. We moved rubble, rubbish, and debris and pumped their houses. More people started coming later, but even arriving on Friday we were first responders—the National Guard, National Grid, Red Cross came later and started pitching in. But they still didn’t have power.

We gave a hand however we could with whatever we had. People had good spirits, they were happy to see us. But after the third or fourth day people were down with no power. If they had gotten power back sooner they would have been better off.

Seeing how bad it was, I didn’t realize it just from TV, it was heartbreaking. I would have run out there by myself if I had known how bad it was—I would have volunteered my time in a heartbeat. These were just regular people who didn’t ask for this.

Osmundo Robinson, Assistant Supervisor, Area Maintenance

Just devastating, shocking almost. I was speechless. People losing their houses, taking stuff out of their houses. We went out on Friday cleaning up debris that came out of the water, and we were out there two days. It was surpising, a lot worse than anyone expected. Where I live it didn’t hit that bad. But to see how it affected them was shocking. I passed by Breezy Point and it looked just like a garbage dump. We were some of the first people to show up—and that was Friday.

3rd Street Men’s Shelter

Barbara Hughes, Director, Comfort Foods and Culinary Arts Training Program

When the storm hit we were able to get the generator running immediately, which enabled us to keep the kitchens going. We opened up our doors to the neighborhood and served hundreds of extra meals, in addition to the clients staying at the shelter!

*Photo courtesy of drpavloff under Flickr Creative Commons

Further into the Fray: Renewing New York City in 2013

According to the Annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) Street Survey conducted by the Department of Homeless Services in January 2012, there were 3,262 unsheltered homeless individuals—a 23% increase from last year, and this is in addition to the 9,500 men and women in shelters on any given night.

So we will do more in 2013

• Meet the increased demand for shelter by developing a new shelter for 108 mentally-ill men in the Bronx: renovation is underway and scheduled to open in 2013.
• Meet the need for job training for homeless veterans by opening a satellite Culinary Arts Training Program to help 64 veterans annually learn cooking and work skills in a 6-month classroom and internship program.
• Meet the needs of homeless veterans for jobs by adding more outreach and placement services. Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS) provides intensive, one-on-one case management to address the complex problems facing homeless veterans.
• Meet the need for supportive housing by developing a new residence for 56 homeless men and women struggling with substance abuse or mental illness. Studio apartments will add housing options for men and women now in shelters.
• And continue innovating within the over 30 programs that help to end homelessness for 13,000 New Yorkers each year.

DONATE NOW to help ensure these veterans get the help they need in 2013!

Spotlight on Excellence: Wendell Evans, Case Manager, In Homes Now

As a Case Manager with In Homes Now, Wendell Evans always strives to provide clients with the highest level of care. Mr. Evans intuitively knows what clients need, defining the “client-centered approach” of Project Renewal’s mission. His innovations in services are expressed in both patient and intuitive interactions with clients—knowing where to find them, how to reach them, and what is needed to take them to the next step, as well as strategic know-how to creatively achieve the goals of the “Housing-First” ethos of the program.

Wendell is known for going “above and beyond,” connecting with clients despite scheduling conflicts, language barriers, and missed meetings. Through tailoring his work to each client’s needs, Wendell is able to reach clients who would otherwise resist help. He re-engaged a client who had abandoned his apartment to return to the streets, and that client is currently housed and committed to the program.

Wendell is “tremendous” at working with outside providers, his “experience in the substance abuse treatment field has left him with numerous contacts in various treatment programs” and allows him to make easy referrals.

In addition to his creative thinking, Wendell demonstrates a commitment to improving his own work. He grasps the complexity of the “housing-first” model and can apply his creative thinking to engineering new solutions that reach those hardest to serve.

Former client and Board Member Lee Stringer: Writing saves Mamaroneck author from streets→

Read More

A first look at Fletcher Residence

In our new state-of the art environmentally friendly residence in the Bronx the formerly homeless are given their first studio apartments!

News: Volunteers Bring Art to Men in Crisis

Volunteer Erika Scully creates the art display for the silent auction

Pamela Bell wasted no time once joining the Board of Trustees, serving on the Strategic Planning committee, chairing our 2012 Gala and most impressively, founding a volunteer arts initiative for the men at 3rd Street Shelter.

The Bowery Arts Program, less than a year old, is an informal creative class where volunteers and clients connect while making all forms of art.  The classes – held on Wednesday and Thursday mornings—provide men struggling with addiction a creative outlet to express their emotions and foster new friendships. 

At the 22nd Annual Gala Benefit and Auction 40 pieces of client art were auctioned off, raising more than $5,300 for Project Renewal.  A very big thank you to Pamela and an amazing group of volunteers who attend the workshops each week including Shelley Sonenberg, Shelagh Herzog, Erika Scully, Laura Rothschild, Caryn Levit, Jemme Aldridge and Susan Minot. 

Interested in Volunteering?

If you are interested in volunteering for the Bowery Arts Program, please contact via email (sidebar at left).

News: Re-purposing an Old Building, Our New Shelter Breaks Ground in the Bronx

Project Renewal has begun renovating its newest shelter, our first in the Bronx and the first to be owned by us.  This shelter will serve on the frontlines of our efforts to overcome homelessness by offering 108 homeless New Yorkers a safe and supportive setting and assistance in moving into permanent homes.

By customizing the design of the space and the structure of the program, which will house men with histories of mental illness, we can better serve this hard-to-reach population.  The shelter’s dorm areas will help build a sense of community and including a Peer Counselor on our staff will be of great assistance during the crucial period when clients transition from the shelter into housing.  In addition to services provided by on-site nurses and mental health providers, primary care will be available to residents through our licensed medical vans.  This shelter will help meet the record demand for shelter in New York City as well as help the City meet its commitment to provide clean and safe shelter to every homeless person who seeks it. 

On May 3rd, Project Renewal closed on the purchase of the 20,900 square foot building in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx.  Formerly used as a car repair shop called Garrett’s Garage in the 1920s, the building went on to be used as a factory to make sights for bombers during WWII.  It is located on the second to last stop on the number 2 line, near the Nereid Avenue stop.

In early June our contractor, Erin Construction & Development Co., began the first stages of gut rehabilitation.  The new design by Architects Edelman Sultan Knox Wood will include skylights to let in sunlight from the roof to the second floor, resulting in an open and inviting atmosphere.  We are accepting proposals from local artists to incorporate artwork on the building’s front entrance gate.

The total development cost for the project is just under $11 million, financed by a construction loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank’s Community Development Group and the Contact Fund.

Read more about how we help homeless New Yorkers with Mental Illness.