NEW YORK, October 30, 2024 — The Helmsley Charitable Trust and Convergent Impact announced today the launch of a new initiative in New York City that will unite key players in housing and healthcare to expand services for New Yorkers with complex health and social needs who are experiencing homelessness or in crisis.
Housing and health are inextricably linked, and increasingly, communities need solutions that address both the need for people to exit homelessness and the ability to achieve health stability.
Over the next three years, the Collaborative on Housing for Health, which is funded by Helmsley’s New York City program, will convene key providers of housing for health services in order to centralize efforts to solve the complex, compounding problems of homelessness and poor health. The initiative is designed to maximize coordination and expand the impact of promising housing for health models.
A Steering Committee is being led by key nonprofit leaders who are providers of housing and health services, as well as Molly Wasow Park, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, and other government leaders. The Steering Committee will direct the Collaborative and help housing for health providers build capacity to increase the scale, alignment, and accessibility of housing solutions for New Yorkers with high-acuity health needs. They also will aim to increase access to public and private funding.
“Meaningfully addressing the barriers to housing experienced by New Yorkers with complex needs requires collaboration and coordination amongst all stakeholders to identify and implement effective health supports and programming while also exploring opportunities for system-wide reforms to expedite the housing process,” said Commissioner Park. “We are proud to be a part of this important initiative and work with our partners to ensure that every New Yorker can access the housing and service they need to stay healthy and stably housed for the long term.”
Many people experiencing homelessness live with health challenges, such as heart disease and diabetes, or experience severe mental illness or substance-use disorders. Conversely, increasingly serious health problems can also lead to homelessness.
Supportive housing—permanent, affordable housing with onsite services that provide easy access to ongoing care—is a proven model for getting people back on their feet. However, existing service offerings are often not adequate for people with the highest-acuity health needs. Additionally, the higher the health challenges, the harder it can be to navigate the supportive housing application process.
The Collaborative’s planning phase started in January 2024 as part of Helmsley’s Housing for Health strategy to stabilize health for the most at-risk New Yorkers. The initial work focused on identifying the systemwide barriers that prevent individuals with complex health and social needs from getting the housing placements and ongoing services that they need.
“Connecting the neediest New Yorkers to stable housing with the right health services is a critical piece of Helmsley’s New York City Program’s grantmaking efforts,” said Tracy Perrizo, the Program Officer for Helmsley’s New York City Program. “Many of our grantees this year are aiming at efforts to eliminate barriers to securing supportive housing and adding the right level of flexible health services to maintain health stability over the long run. For system-level change that no one organization can achieve alone, a collaborative project can be most effective. Over the next three years, this collaborative of talented leaders committed to this issue is well poised to improve health outcomes and bolster NYC’s pipeline of health-supported housing.”
The work is being funded by $4 million over three years from Helmsley and is modeled after the successful Helmsley-backed Collaborative for Homeless Healthcare and NYC Food Assistance Collaborative. Those efforts brought together previously disconnected homeless providers and emergency food suppliers, respectively, to provide incentives and resources to make permanent systemwide improvements.
Similarly, the Collaborative on Housing for Health will increase capacity and coordination among the City’s housing and health providers for New Yorkers with complex health and social needs. The partnership will allow for the creation of high-impact opportunities in New York City and aim for savings – both in the health of vulnerable New Yorkers and in costs – through better public and private sector coordination for this population. The investments will be iteratively made by the Collaborative and may include pursuing new research and pilot programs.
The landscape research to prepare this group has been advised by network leaders from the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the Supportive Housing Network of New York, The Health and Housing Consortium, and United Hospital Fund of New York and the group will continue to exchange knowledge and resources with the greater housing for health ecosystem.
Steering Committee members were specifically chosen to represent the provider community based on their proven track records of success serving individuals with complex health needs, deep expertise in both the housing and health systems in New York City, and compelling individual leadership perspectives. Steering Committee members include:
“I’m thrilled and honored to be part of the Collaborative on Housing for Health to address the needs of our unhoused community and work with healthcare providers to find housing and services that can help them overcome the immense challenges they face,” Shack said. “Homelessness, at its core, is due to a lack of access to decent, affordable housing. However, those who experience long periods of being unhoused often face complex health needs. This project seeks to identify and elevate models that integrate housing with healthcare, reducing the time individuals are without stable homes and ensuring they receive the services necessary to thrive. Bringing together stakeholders is a critical step toward developing innovative and sustainable solutions. Together, we can reshape the way we address homelessness in New York City by providing the holistic support people need to reclaim their health and their lives.”
“From a walk across the City of New York, it’s clear that a sub-group of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges are not being well served by the current system,” Brenner said. “As leaders we’re coming together to reimagine how our system can best meet their needs, help them get off the streets, and move forward on a journey towards wellness and recovery.”
“We are incredibly grateful to Helmsley Charitable Trust for bringing together a remarkable group of leaders who are deeply committed to addressing the urgent needs of New Yorkers with the most complex health and housing challenges,” said Rudin. “I am honored to work alongside my talented peers to take a strategic approach to creating systemic solutions that prevent individuals experiencing mental health and substance use challenges from falling through the cracks. This Collaborative on Housing for Health represents a unique and timely opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness and instability and give each person the care they deserve.”
“I’m honored to join this Collaborative in its efforts to improve the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Yu. “It has long been our mission to bring the kind of care we want for ourselves and our loved ones to the people we serve. I’m excited to join this group of colleagues I have long admired to help shape innovation to address the most difficult challenges faced by New Yorkers with lived experience of homelessness.”
The government agency leaders include:
Collectively, this group brings a diverse portfolio of work with the highest-acuity population, an eagerness to collaborate, and a shared commitment to improve outcomes for New Yorkers with complex health and social needs.
Over the next three years, the Steering Committee will engage with people with lived expertise and the broader housing-for-health community to inform the direction of the Collaborative’s work.
To request updates on the Collaborative’s work, please email Bob Shaver, bobshaver@convergentimpact.org.
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Michelle Tsai, mtsai@helmsleytrust.org