Mayor Adams Launches Street Homeless Advocacy Project for New Yorkers Experiencing Homelessness
Channel: NYC Mayor's Office
Date: 2022-07-19

MAYOR ADAMS, NORMAN SIEGEL, COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS FOUNDER ROBERT HAYES LAUNCH STREET HOMELESS ADVOCACY PROJECT TO SUPPORT NEW YORKERS EXPERIENCING STREET HOMELESSNESS
 
Project Will Train Volunteers Including Those With Lived Experience To Advocate For, Offer Services To Unhoused New Yorkers 
 
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, veteran civil rights advocate and former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union Norman Siegel, and Community Healthcare Network president and Coalition for the Homeless founder Robert Hayes today announced the launch of the Street Homeless Advocacy Project (SHAP), a volunteer outreach initiative to provide direct support to those experiencing homelessness. Led by Norman Siegel and Robert Hayes in conjunction with the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, The New York Legal Assistance Group, and the Doe Fund, the new initiative will help train New Yorkers to become volunteer advocates for those experiencing homelessness. 
 
SHAP will train volunteers to engage and build trust with those experiencing homelessness, and offer services ranging from independent housing options, safe haven beds, as well as mental health and substance use programs.  
 
Diverse teams of volunteers (made up of individuals with direct experience of homelessness, social workers, clergy and faith leaders, and community leaders) will be assigned to specific areas, in coordination with existing street homeless outreach programs, where they will engage with and offer services to individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. 
 
Volunteer advocates will go through a comprehensive application and vetting process before they start. When teams go out, they will be equipped with specific and direct links to the array of residential alternatives to the streets available to homeless individuals, as well as other support services like soup kitchens and medical services.  
 
In addition to the Street Homeless Advocacy Project, any New Yorker who sees someone in need of assistance can call 311 or file a report through the 311 app.  
 
The launch of the SHAP follows Mayor Adams’ historic, $171 million investment in resources for individuals experiencing street homelessness. It also comes after a record of more than 1,300 New Yorkers accepted shelter in the first three months of Mayor Adams’ Subway Safety Plan (between February 21 and May 20) — representing a five-fold increase compared to the number of individuals who accepted shelter during the first week of the plan.

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City Hall Rotunda
Lower Manhattan

July 19, 2022