Coalition for the Homeless

NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani plans to stop destruction of homeless encampments. Here's what he wants to do instead. The destruction of homeless encampments across New York City, a hallmark policy of Mayor Eric Adams' administration, will be halted by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

"With Mayor Adams...the main concern is creating the appearance that homelessness is being reduced by removing people from sight,...without any thought to what's happening [to them]," @nyhomeless.bsky.social Exec. Dir. @giffendave.bsky.social shares with @alibauman.bsky.social for @cbsnews.com.

NYC experiences dangerously cold temperatures Temperatures are running about 15 degrees below average, and it’s not even officially winter yet.

“The reason that we have a right to shelter in New York City is because [the cold] is dangerous,” @giffendave.bsky.social told @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social. “It can threaten your life to sleep out exposed to the elements and especially on nights like tonight.”

Coalition for the Homeless Applauds City Council for Overriding Mayoral Veto of Int. 1372 - Coalition For The Homeless The Coalition for the Homeless commends the New York City Council for standing up for low-income New Yorkers by overriding the Mayor’s veto of Intro 1372. This crucial action reverses an ill-conceived...

*** The Coalition for the Homeless commends the New York City Council for standing up for low-income New Yorkers by overriding the Mayor’s veto of Intro 1372. *** Read full statement here: www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/press/coalit...

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Check out my list on Amazon

Find our Holiday Toy Drive Amazon Wishlist here: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...

Q&A: Taryn Delanie Smith on the toy drive for Coalition for the Homeless Taryn Delanie Smith joins Eyewitness News to discuss the toy drive for the Coalition for the Homeless.

This morning, @abc7ny.bsky.social and Taryn Delanie Smith spread the word about our Holiday Toy Drive. During this holiday season, give the joy of a new toy for children living in NYC shelters.

Thank you for being a crucial part of our Grand Central Food Program and for giving it such a great shout out. Wishing you a happy holiday season 💙

Thank you for your constant support David! Wishing you happy holidays

Thank you for your generosity and compassion! 💙

I just bought a kid a Hello Kitty doll!

American friends, especially NYC and surrounds, this is for you.
Everyone else, if you can, consider a local community group that helps those in need.
Where I am, our Community Resource Centre coordinates an annual hamper drive.
If you aren't sure of what's around, check in with your council.

A blue, red, and cream graphic with illustrations of toys dotted around the design, and text that reads "Coalition for the Homeless 2025 Holiday Toy Drive. For children living in New York City shelters. October 20- December 14, 2025."

A photo of a smiling child, holding two wrapped gifts, with a festive background.

Our Holiday Toy Drive for 2025 is on now! Let’s spread the joy this season with something as simple as a gift for a child in need. Your gift – whether it’s a stuffed animal, a book, or a game – isn’t just a toy. It’s proof that someone cares. www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/event/holida...

We are proud to see our Executive Director, @giffendave.bsky.social, recognized by Politics NY and amNY for his outstanding work in the New York's nonprofit sector. politicsny.com/power-lists/...

Troy, from our Client Advocacy Group and Reynaldo, from @vocal-ny.bsky.social's Homelessness Union penned an op-ed in @citylimitsnews.bsky.social about wifi in NYC shelters. Access to wifi is a lifeline, a crucial tool for securing work, housing, and much more. citylimits.org/opinion-wi-f...

Opinion: Wi-Fi Isn't a Luxury - City Limits "Every step we need to take to get out of the shelter system involves using the internet to access resources, apply for jobs, and submit rental applications. You might think shelters would provide us ...

"Every step we need to take to get out of the shelter system involves using the internet to access resources, apply for jobs, and submit rental applications." Wifi isn't a luxury. It is a basic human need. @gonzalez4ny.bsky.social @citylimitsnews.bsky.social citylimits.org/opinion-wi-f...

Our Executive Director @giffendave.bsky.social spoke with @gothamist.com about the dangers of using NYPD officers for homeless outreach in our subways. gothamist.com/news/mamdani...

140,000 N.Y.C. Students Are Homeless. Can the Next Mayor Change That?

@giffendave.bsky.social, Exec. Dir. of @nyhomeless.bsky.social spoke with Troy Closson for @nytimes.com, saying the increase in homeless students “is so profoundly obscene that I don’t know how the No. 1 priority of any administration isn’t ensuring that everyone in the city has a place to live.”

A graphic that reads "“When people are involuntarily hospitalized, they’re brought in, maybe stabilized, and they end up right back out on the streets. People who are homeless are not criminal.” Dave Giffen, Executive Director Coalition for the homeless".

It’s not a homelessness crisis — it’s a housing crisis. @nyhomeless.bsky.social Executive Director @giffendave.bsky.social speaks with @nytimes.com. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/n...

How the N.Y.C. Mayoral Candidates Plan to Tackle Homelessness

“We’ve been referring to this as a homelessness crisis for five decades,” said @giffendave.bsky.social, Executive Director of @nyhomeless.bsky.social. “It’s not a homelessness crisis — it’s a housing crisis.”

ACT NOW to Prevent Severe HUD Cuts The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.

New Yorkers: call your representatives now. Demand Congress reject these cuts and fully fund housing programs that keep families safe. 4/4
endhomelessness.org/action/act-n...
#StopTheFederalCuts #HousingIsAHumanRight

These cuts come during a homelessness crisis—making it harder for families to find and keep stable homes. The city and Congress must act to protect housing and prevent displacement. 3/

Section 8 vouchers and public housing are lifelines for families across the city. Losing this funding means more evictions, more homelessness, and deeper crises for Black and Brown communities already hardest hit. 2/

Trump’s FY26 budget cuts $4.5 billion from housing programs in NYC, threatening support for over 1 million residents through NYCHA and Section 8. These cuts risk destabilizing entire neighborhoods. 1/

Crowd holding signs in front of New York City Hall

We joined with more than a dozen organizations to discuss the impact of catastrophic federal cuts to services for homeless New Yorkers. You can read our testimony here: www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/u...

Our Youth Programs Over Summer 2025: Wrapping up Project: Back to School, Bound for Success, and Camp Homeward Bound - Coalition For The Homeless This summer marked another busy season for Coalition for the Homeless youth programs. Project: Back to School, Bound for Success, and Camp Homeward Bound touched the lives of thousands of homeless chi...

As summer comes to a close, we reflect on another busy season of our youth programs. With your help, we were able to distribute nearly 7k backpacks to students living in NYC shelters, provide an enriching summer day camp, and welcome more than 300 campers to Camp Homeward Bound. Latest blog here:

Instead of cycling people between streets and hospitals, Mayor Adams and @governor.ny.gov should invest in solutions that we know work: prioritizing housing first, with sound mental health care. www.instagram.com/reel/DMGT9s2... 2/2

Adams' involuntary hospital transports often fail to meet admission criteria Mayor Eric Adams' push to take more people to the hospital involuntarily as a way to connect individuals with serious mental illnesses to services has struggled to get many people admitted to care, da...

Mayor Adams' approach to homelessness isn't working. 43% of those taken to hospitals by co-response teams are discharged right back onto the streets. It's an inhumane revolving door and needs to stop. www.crainsnewyork.com/health-pulse... 1/

The Real Cause of Homelessness For decades, a misleading narrative about mental illness among the unhoused obscured the true source of the crisis: hyper-commodified housing.

“This focus on involuntary treatment of those with mental health problems is not new, and it really is an insult to the public, who has seen this approach fail already in the past. The solution—the only solution—to homelessness is decommodified housing..."