New tool helps deaf New Yorkers communicate basic needs in homeless shelters

New York City shelter residents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will get a novel tool in the coming weeks to help them communicate basic information, like asking for toilet paper or describing pain.

The Department of Social Services is distributing visual cards printed with images of basic needs. It can take time to find interpreters, even for video calls. The idea of the cards is to give people with communication disabilities a way to point to what they need help with, rather than wait for interpreters. That can include complaining about a bad smell, or bugs and rodents, or needing shampoo.

“This is a way to get your basic needs met. Not to replace interpretation ever, but if you need toilet paper at 2 o'clock in the morning, how are you indicating that to the shelter staff?” said Jennifer Shaoul,  the department's executive director of disability affairs.

The “CommuniCard” includes nearly 60 images on one side describing health issues, food, maintenance, toiletries and household items. The other side of the card includes the alphabet, numbers and signs for morning, afternoon and evening to schedule appointments.

City officials say the cards are part of the city’s plan to make New York more accessible for people with disabilities and reduce the stress for homeless New Yorkers as the city’s shelter population remains at record-high levels.

“For most of us in the deaf community, when we know we have to go in somewhere, anywhere, we already go in with the mindset that it could be a frustrating process,” Tony Wooden said through a sign language interpreter.  Wooden supervises ASL Direct, a video calling system for American Sign Language users, at the Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities. “I hope this encourages more city agencies to start thinking more proactively about accessibility.”

Wooden said he gave feedback on the design of the CommuniCard to offer the perspective of the deaf community. The card was also improved after several focus groups gave feedback about it, city officials said.

Last year about 30% of shelter residents spoke languages other than English, and sign-language interpretation services were used more than 1,500 times, city officials said. About 1 million New Yorkers have disabilities, and people with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty as the general public.

Interpreters are available through video or in-person. Video interpretation can take a few minutes or up to half an hour to connect, while an in-person interpreter can take much longer.

The cards are available to download in 15 different languages and will be distributed at every homeless intake facility as well as every shelter. While the cards are focused on shelter needs, city officials said anyone can use them, such as people who don’t speak English as a first language or have a cognitive disability.

“The tool’s universal design and versatility allows its use across various agencies and is now publicly available for anyone to use,” Department of Social Services Commissioner Erin Dalton said in a statement.

Shaoul said nonprofit groups and the state have also asked for the cards to help street homeless outreach or people in shelters statewide.

“I know a tool is good when I want a stack of them in my office to start using immediately,” said Ben Thapa, associate director at the state’s Office of the Chief Disability Officer.

The city will also offer CommuniCards to domestic violence shelters, youth shelters and shelters for people with HIV/AIDS.

“I haven't seen anything like this for shelter anywhere,” Shaoul said. “The point here is to change a culture to not only just follow the law, but see how we can find ways to actually meet the needs of people with disabilities, and doing creative things to do that.”

Karen Yi

Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers

NYC's street homeless population reaches record high in annual tally

Nearly 5,000 New Yorkers slept on the city’s streets, subways or parks this year — the highest number recorded in more than a decade and an increase of more than 400 people from last year, city data shows.

The Department of Social Services Thursday released its yearly Homeless Outreach Population Survey, or HOPE count, which measures how many people slept outside on a single night. The count does not include the homeless population residing in shelters.

The annual count is required by federal law. While the tally is supposed to take place on the coldest night of the year to measure how many homeless residents are opting out of the city’s shelter system, this year it happened in March when temperatures were unusually warm. The count was postponed from January because of a stretch of dangerously frigid weather.

This year 4,991 people were counted outdoors, an 11% increase from 2025. The numbers come as the city faces a stubborn homelessness crisis where more than 82,000 New Yorkers are residing in the city’s shelters every night. The Mamdani administration has rushed to open more than 430 new shelter beds that offer more flexibility than traditional shelters, such as no curfew. They’ve also resumed sweeps of homeless encampments, though they’ve put the Department of Homeless Services instead of the NYPD in charge.

Despite the spike, most homeless New Yorkers are still residing in shelters because of the city’s unique right-to-shelter law, which guarantees a bed to anyone who asks for one, city officials said.

Less than 5% of the city’s homeless population is unsheltered, compared to cities like Los Angeles or Portland, where more than 60% of homeless people are sleeping in the street, data shared by the Department of Social Services shows.

“While we recognize, and this year’s count confirms, that most people experiencing homelessness in NYC are in shelter, I place the utmost importance on reaching those living unsheltered and offering the individualized housing options and supports that meet their unique needs and position them for long-term stability,” department Commissioner Erin Dalton said in a statement.

The data shows an increase in street homeless numbers in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with fewer people counted inside the subway this year, the lowest since the pandemic.

Department of Social Services officials said more than 300 New Yorkers living on the streets and subways were placed in permanent housing from nontraditional shelter beds known as Safe Havens in the first three months of this year.

Karen Yi

Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020.

Homeless Shelter Debate Divides The Upper East Side Two local shelter proposals have divided neighbors, with residents organizing on both sides.

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Since January, proposals for two homeless shelters on the Upper East Side have sparked considerable opposition, petitions, packed community meetings and even a lawsuit.

But amid the backlash, a growing group of residents is organizing in support of the shelters, arguing that the neighborhood should play a role in reducing homelessness in the city. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, 98,671 people slept each night in NYC shelters in March 2026.

"I believe that as a right of birth, people deserve a roof over their head," Erica Bersin, an Upper East Sider and volunteer with the nonprofit Open Hearts Initiative, told Patch. "I don't think that these should be controversial issues."

Promo Video

But they are. The divide has resurfaced this week after a petition opposing a proposed homeless shelter at East 89th Street and Third Avenue gained more than 3,000 signatures.

Petition organizers argue that while they're not opposed to shelter in general, the location, at 1587 Third Ave., is unsuitable due to its density and nearby schools. The petition is also criticizing the city for what they call a lack of transparency.

"We support solutions to homelessness. We support services for those in need. But we also believe a basic principle must be upheld: Where you place a facility matters. New York City cannot continue to make decisions of this magnitude without transparency, context, and community input," the petition says.

The Department of Homeless Services confirmed to Patch that it is considering a shelter proposal at the intersection. Once the department approves of a plan, the details will be released and a public hearing will be scheduled.

The petition comes as a separate shelter project on East 61st Street and First Avenue is moving forward. That shelter, approved by the city, will house up to 200 mostly employed women and is classified as a general population shelter.

In March, opponents sued to block the First Avenue project, arguing that the shelter would negatively impact the area and that city officials failed to provide adequate transparency before it was announced. But a judge ultimately denied those challenges, clearing the way for the shelter to open.

Despite the petitions and lawsuit, supporters say the pushback to shelters does not represent the entire neighborhood.

"The shelter is facing blowback from an incredibly loud and small group of people," Chris Sosa, a spokesperson for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee of the Four Freedoms Democratic Club, told Patch.

The club passed a resolution supporting the shelter by overwhelming voice vote, Sosa told Patch. As part of the resolution, the club will urge elected officials, community organizations and residents to help ensure the shelter opens and operates successfully.

"The reason that Four Freedoms Democratic Club became involved in this issue," Sosa said, "is that inclusion is part of the mandate, and we believe that those experiencing homelessness are owed shelter as a human right."

Kelly Haselschwerdt, a longtime Upper East Side resident who volunteers with Open Hearts Initiative, told Patch she's looking forward to supporting the shelters as a volunteer once they open.

Open Hearts Initiative is a volunteer-driven nonprofit that advocates for homeless services and organizes events and donation drives for shelters. It started in 2020 on the Upper West Side and has since expanded into chapters across the city.

"I’m at a place in my life where I can afford my place, but I know a lot of others are not," Haselschwerdt told Patch. "So I want to be able to help others who are not able to at this moment."

In addition to moral reasoning, supporters say shelters are a solution, not a problem, for the neighborhood.

"People often complain about people living on the streets, but then when a solution is provided, they don't want that either," Bersin said.

Charles Warren, a longtime Community Board 8 member who authored the board’s resolution supporting the shelter proposal, told Patch that protesting new homeless shelters is not new to the neighborhood.

"I remember when we had a big fight in 1989 for a drop-in center," Warren said. "The neighborhood was up in arms."

But, he said, the shelter ultimately operated for years without significant issues.

Warren, who has lived on the Upper East Side for 46 years, said successful shelters depend on strong management, security and oversight. The planned women’s shelter on First Avenue, he noted, is expected to include a community advisory board and extensive monitoring.

"Historically, it's shown it can be done in ways that don't really result in negative impacts on the community," Warren told Patch. "Homeless people are a fact of city life, and I think it's incumbent on the city to treat them as well as possible."

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.

This Voucher Is Supposed to Help Homeless New Yorkers Leave Shelters. A Majority Don’t Qualify.

The city’s main voucher program, CityFHEPS, has been a lifeline for many homeless New Yorkers who have secured permanent homes with the rental subsidy.

But a broad swath of people in New York’s shelters are not eligible, cutting them off from a key avenue out of homelessness, according to data from two major local shelter providers.

About two-thirds of the roughly 600 families and individuals in the seven shelters operated by Volunteers of America-Greater New York are ineligible for CityFHEPS, according to the nonprofit’s analysis. The majority of those households don’t qualify because they work either too much — putting them just over the income line — or too little.

The same pattern holds true for the services nonprofit Win, which runs 15 shelters that house about 5,200 people each night. About two-thirds of its clients are currently not eligible for CityFHEPS, according to a Win analysis.

Broadly, to qualify for the voucher, people in shelter must work at least 10 hours per week but earn no more than 200% of the federal poverty level. That comes to $31,920 for an individual or $66,000 for a family of four.

“People have to find a way to somehow meet a very narrow criteria to gain access to a voucher,” said Jeffrey Ginsburg, president of VOA-GNY. “At the simplest level, we have this idea that we want people to work, but we don’t want them to make too much money. On its face, you can say that sounds fair enough, but when you look at the details, it creates a narrow window and a very perverse set of incentives.”

Homeless advocates and city officials agree that CityFHEPS helps people in shelters move into permanent housing and stay housed. City data bears it out. But Mayor Zohran Mamdani is fighting a legal battle against implementing a package of laws City Council passed in 2023 that would expand eligibility for the vouchers. As a candidate, he promised to put the laws — which his predecessor Mayor Eric Adams did not implement —  into effect, but reversed himself once in office as he faced budget pressures. 

About 68,000 households rely on CityFHEPS vouchers, which allow New Yorkers to pay about a third of their income toward rent. Another 47,000 households could come to depend on the program if it’s expanded in line with the 2023 law, accounting to one estimate.

The homeless New Yorkers who qualify for theCityFHEPS voucher must thread a needle to be able to keep it — like Ali Austin, a 51-year-old grandfather who has been living in a Coney Island shelter operated by another provider for nearly four years.

Austin said he’d initially lost his home after the 2020 death of his mother. He’d been living with her in New Jersey, taking care of her while she battled cancer. 

When he moved to New York in 2022, he got a job working full time as a front desk agent for a supportive housing nonprofit. Because of that gig, he made too much money to qualify for CityFHEPS and hoped to get a different kind of rental assistance voucher. That never came through.

In August of last year, he secured a different job, working three days a week with a reentry program. Now he earns less, putting him “in the money frame that they say I need,” to get a CityFHEPS voucher, he said. But he doesn’t know how he’ll pay for all his other living expenses. 

“Once I move, I won’t be able to survive off just that and I’ll have to work more,” he said.

Austin this month got approved for a voucher and plans to move into a rooming house in Washington Heights, where he will have his own room but will share a kitchen and bathroom with others.

“I don’t like the idea of it because even in the shelter I have my own bathroom, but I gotta get out of there,” he said. “I’m at the point where I’m ready to accept whatever I can.”

The bills passed by the City Council in 2023 — now being challenged in court by the Mamdani administration, a continuation of the Adams-era approach — expanded the eligibility for vouchers, allowing the required income level to rise and making people facing eviction eligible, too, along with people already living in shelters. Under the law, people earning up to 50% of the federally-designated Area Median Income — about $56,700 for an individual and $81,000 for a family of four — would qualify.

Homeless New Yorker Tiffany Rosario keeps warm in Midtown with her service dog while she has to be out of her shelter during the day, Feb. 5, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

If those new rules went into effect, the average eligibility rate in the seven shelters run by Volunteers of America would shoot up from about a third to about three-quarters. At Win, about a third of the clients currently not eligible for CityFHEPS would become eligible.

Austin said he would’ve qualified for the CityFHEPS voucher when he was working full time, if only the expanded program was in place.

“It’s frustrating and it’s unfair,” he said. “It would’ve been more money I could’ve brought in and saved. Just because I’m in a shelter didn’t mean I didn’t have family obligations.”

In particular, he said expenses sometimes crop up related to his grown children and grandchild.

As Mamdani faces a budget gap of over $5 billion, his administration has not only pushed back against the law expanding the program but floated scaling it back to save money.

In a statement, mayoral spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said, “Mayor Mamdani has been clear that CityFHEPS is an invaluable tool to prevent homelessness and support homeless New Yorkers. That is why our team is working hard to ensure that it is fiscally sound and sustainable for the long-term.”

The current program’s cost has ballooned from about $26 million in 2019 to over $1.8 billion this year. The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development projected the cost to grow to over $3 billion annually by 2030 — for a total cost of $12.6 billion between now and 2030. 

If the expanded program goes into effect, the annual cost would be over $4 billion by 2030, according to an Independent Budget Office analysis.

Still, homeless advocates have argued the city would save money overall if there were more New Yorkers housed, rather than in shelters. A shelter bed costs $4,600 per month for a single adult, compared to the standard monthly voucher payment of $2,646 for a studio, according to the city Department of Social Services.

Ginsburg pointed to the economic gains that are possible when households can work and afford to spend money.

“When we are more housed, we are more successful,” he said. “This is an issue we know the mayor cares about in making a more affordable city. Without the expanding of the voucher system, that will not happen.”

That’s true for Austin, who wants to get on his feet and start his own business by opening up a chain of video gaming lounges.

 “I’m trying to do something to make a legacy for my granddaughter,” he said.

Mayor Mamdani shares Easter dinner with formerly homeless veterans

With full plates and a list of stories, veterans had dinner with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Easter Sunday.

The mayor visited the Commonwealth Veteran's Residence after several stops throughout Brooklyn and the Bronx.

The building has 75 units housing formerly homeless veterans.

"It's a message to all veterans that the city of New York is with them, that this is a new era, an era that wants to make sure that veterans and their families are included," said the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services Yesenia Mata. Alongside other elected officials and the commissioner, the mayor met with more than 30 former service members.

The veterans shared their concerns and questions regarding housing, employment and health.

"Most of them said, 'this is the first time where we actually had someone who sits as a mayor that came here and talked to us and asked us, what is it that we need?'," said Mata.

The moment was a milestone for the people in the room, a veteran could be heard saying to another employee, "I feel like my life was changed."

The president and CEO of the Volunteers of America-Greater New York, Jeffrey Ginsburg said, "We're very proud to be a part of that conversation, but we're most proud that our formerly homeless veterans got to speak for themselves."

The commissioner told News 12 it is the second time the mayor visited the veterans, and it shows a commitment to listening to their needs.

The Sleeping Bag Project NYC Mourns The Loss Of One Of Our Founders, Ronell Kirkley.

Ronell Kirkley was one of the founding hearts behind The Sleeping Bag Project NYC. From the very beginning, he showed up with purpose, dedication, and a genuine love for the people this organization was built to serve.

Ronell played an instrumental role in shaping the early direction of TSBPNYC, helping to lay the groundwork that continues to guide our mission today. His belief in the dignity of every person, housed or unhoused, was the kind of conviction that moves people to action, and it moved all of us. 

We are deeply grateful for everything he gave to this organization and to the community it serves. His impact will be felt in every sleeping bag we distribute, every cold night we help someone get through, and every life we touch going forward. 

Ronell, thank you. You will be forever part of this mission, and forever in our hearts.

Tariq George 

Vice President 
The Sleeping Bag Project NYC

 

Mamdani administration pressed on homeless removals amid cold snap

Members of the Mamdani administration faced sharp questioning from the City Council on Tuesday over whether enough is being done to keep homeless New Yorkers indoors during this winter’s frigid cold snap.

Lawmakers took particular issue with the narrow rules governing when the city can remove people involuntarily from frozen streets.

Since Jan. 19, the city has either been under a Code Blue or experienced below-freezing temperatures, conditions that have coincided with a growing death toll.

What You Need To Know

Since Jan. 19, New York City has been under Code Blue or below-freezing conditions
State law requires signs of mental illness and danger to self or others for involuntary removal
As of Tuesday, 37 people were removed from streets and more than 1,400 placed in shelters
Council members say 17 to 18 deaths in roughly three weeks signal possible systemic failures

“How can a person refusing to come indoors in freezing weather, where they are obviously at great risk of dying, not be assessed to be a danger to themselves?” Council Speaker Julie Menin, a Democrat, asked during the hearing.

Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park defended the city’s approach.

“If an individual is completely lucid, they are dry, they are wearing enough layers of clothing and they do not want to come inside, they have the right to not come inside,” Wasow Park said.

Under state law, involuntary removal requires a two-part threshold: A person must be exhibiting signs of mental illness and be a threat to themselves or others.

Council members pressed officials on why the threshold remains so high, especially during extreme cold.

“If you have a sound mind, you know that in those temperatures you cannot stay warm by wrapping yourself in newspapers,” said Council Member Phil Wong, a Democrat from Queens.

Council Member Joann Ariola, a Republican from Queens, asked whether someone “unhoused on the sidewalk, cleaning the floor, not really being cohesive when speaking and approached by SOH&H, one of our CBOs, our EMTs, our NYPD — would that person meet the criteria?”

City officials, including representatives from the NYPD, said assessments are made on a case-by-case basis.

“If our officers encounter them, they’re coherent, they’re able to answer our questions, they are not exhibiting signs of mental illness, it becomes more difficult — but again, it’s very context specific,” said Alex Crohn, NYPD deputy commissioner for strategic initiatives.

As of Tuesday, 37 New Yorkers had been removed from city streets and more than 1,400 had been placed in shelters, according to the mayor.

Those who were not removed were checked on every four hours during Code Blue conditions and every two hours during enhanced emergency activations.

Speaking to NY1, Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not say whether he supports relaxing the state law, instead praising the city’s overall response.

“What they’ve done is kept people alive amidst a temperature that on Sunday was colder than Antarctica,” Mamdani said.

Since temperatures plunged, the city has deployed 400 outreach workers, activated dozens of warming vans and centers, and opened four new shelters.

City officials described the deaths as tragic.

“There was a precipitous drop in temperatures that was incredibly dangerous and deadly,” said Zach Iscol, commissioner of NYC Emergency Management.

After the hearing, its co-chairs told NY1 they believe there were systemic failures in the city’s response.

“We should never get to a point where people are choosing to be on the streets as opposed to being in shelter,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson, a Democrat from Brooklyn.

“Even though the average amount of deaths due to hypothermia is in the 30s, I would say 17 or 18 individuals losing their lives within the span of three weeks — that does sound like a lot,” said Council Member Oswald Feliz, a Democrat from the Bronx.

NYC Is Testing Guaranteed Income for Homeless Youths.

What can a $1,200 monthly allowance do for young adults experiencing homelessness? 

In The Bronx, a 22-year-old said she is finally able to save up for a rent security deposit for the first time since entering the shelter system a year and a half ago. 

In Harlem, a 19-year-old Lehman College student said her dream of pursuing a cosmetology license finally feels within reach.

New York City is home to more than 6,800 homeless youths who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian, and who either live on the streets or are sheltered in temporary settings. Since December, 60 of them — aged 18 through 24 — have been receiving monthly cash payments of $1,200 after they were selected at random to participate in a program called “Cash with Care,” run in partnership with Covenant House New York, a non-profit service and shelter provider for homeless and runaway youths.

The $1.5 million initiative, funded by the City Council under the leadership of former speaker Adrienne Adams, also provides recipients with a one-time lump sum of $5,000 — accessible at any time during the program — in addition to the monthly payments. The program includes services such as help with financial planning, housing searches and career development, and will run through this June. 

The Covenant House youth shelter in Hell’s Kitchen helped connect young people with employers, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

The program was introduced in collaboration with policy research center Chapin Hall to test whether a guaranteed income can help youths transition out of homelessness. The idea, which has gained some nationwide traction in recent years, is to simply give people cash and let them decide what to do with it.

Sign up for THE CITY SCOOP!

Never miss a headline from THE CITY with our free morning newsletter.

Sign up

The new project builds on the research center’s “Trust Youth Initiative”, which was launched during the pandemic in June 2021 and also offered monthly stipends to a few dozen homeless young people in the city. 

More than 90% of participants in the 2021 initiative said the monthly stipends helped them find stable housing. The current iteration, though, is looking to reassess the efficacy of the payments in light of dramatic rent increases and rollbacks in emergency rental assistance in the years that followed, said Chapin Hall policy fellow Sarah Berger Gonzalez.

Researchers will measure outcomes in housing stability and food security through surveys and casework data among program participants, she added, and compare the results against a control group of another 60 Covenant House youths who will not receive the support. (All survey responders can earn up to around $400, depending on participation.)

So far, youth participants who spoke to THE CITY said the cash assistance has opened up new possibilities for them. Those youths spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect their privacy and to avoid conflict with other youths in the shelters who were not selected for the program.

For the 22-year-old, who currently lives in a Bronx shelter, the new stream of income means she’s now able to explore permanent housing options outside the city’s rapid re-housing program, where her application has been pending for months. 

“I’ve been in the shelter for so long, it sometimes is a little depressing, because I’m just like, ‘OK, when are they going to get back to me about this apartment?” said the 22-year-old, who has cycled in and out of youth shelters since her family was evicted from their home a year and a half ago. “Now, with this money, me and my sister are like, ‘OK, it may just be easier to get that apartment ourselves.”

A 22-year-old Covenant House participant said she’s using a cash stipend to save up for a security deposit and to enroll in a trade training program, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: Haidee Chu/THE CITY

She also plans to use the money to explore new skills, she said. She had been unable to attend cost-free training in medical billing or sterile cleaning techniques, she noted, because they conflict with her work as a sales associate at Bronx Zoo. But with the monthly stipends, she said, she can now pay out of pocket for ones that fit her schedule.

Soon, she’ll start driving lessons, too.

“The options are unlimited now,” she said.

Covenant House New York CEO Shakeema North-Albert said she wasn’t always convinced that a guaranteed income program would work when Chapin Hall initially approached her with the idea.

“Putting myself in the shoes of someone else, who’s not rich and who had to figure it out, if someone gave me $1,000 a month and said, ‘you could just do whatever you want with it,’ I probably would have blown most of it because I would have went out and got all the things I thought I was lacking,” said North-Albert. “It would have taken me maybe three months to get it figured out and say, like, “girl, you’re running out of money, you need to figure something out.’”’

Covenant House CEO Shakeema North-Albert spoke about their new program to provide cash assistance to homeless youth, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

But, North-Albert said, she hoped the program could nonetheless pose an opportunity to shift away from the crisis shelter model and towards innovations that could help youths transition out of homelessness entirely, looking to the Trust Youth Initiative as a model. Unlike some other guaranteed income programs, she said, that model incorporated services designed to help people find stable housing.

“The supportive services piece made it more attractive to me,” said North-Albert, who now hopes to secure more funding to scale up the program. “The youths still have the autonomy to make whatever decision they want to make, but at least we’ll help coach them and help them look at this opportunity in light of their current situation to help them get closer to whatever their goals are.”

Lyndell Pittman, the organization’s senior vice president of support services, said he initially shared similar doubts.

“Quite frankly, when [North-Albert] told me what we were doing, I was like, ‘Are we crazy?’” Pittman said. “But I got to see young people with a desire to change their situations, and willing to learn and accept the support to learn.”

Covenant House Senior Vice President of Support Services Lyndell Pittman spoke about their new program to provide cash assistance to homeless youth, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

Many youths, he said, talked about paying off debts and bills at the onset of the program. One youth in particular, he said, shared how the money would help get her on track to reuniting with her child, who is currently under foster care.

“I’m not at a 180 but I’m at a 160,” Pittman added, describing his change in attitude. “Watching the young people’s lightbulb come on about finances has been a real thing.”

One 19-year-old Covenant House resident told THE CITY her approach to the stipend has already shifted from when she received her first deposit last month.

“I didn’t want to save that first paycheck. I just wanted to have a bit of fun, so I bought a phone and just kind of tried new places outside,” she said. “But I met with my case manager, and she kind of encouraged me. She’s like, ‘Are you saving?’ And then I thought about it, and I also thought I should save.”

She’s currently taking a break from her studies at City College to discover more about herself and what she may want to pursue as a career, she added, and has struggled to find a job due to her mental health. 

“You don’t get money going to school, so it just felt like it wasn’t a priority right now,” she said.

The monthly allowances, meanwhile, have helped ease her financial anxieties.

Another 19-year-old, the Lehman College student, said she had initially increased her spending after the first infusion of cash, but now limits her spending to $100 or less a week and saves at least $500 from each deposit.

A 19-year-old Covenant House participant said she plans to pursue a cosmetology license with the monthly cash stipend, Jan. 8, 2026. Credit: Haidee Chu/THE CITY

The steady monthly payments, she said, mean she’s no longer looking for financial support from her mother, who she said lives with alcohol dependency and kicked her out in October after an argument. Their relationship has since improved, she added, and she moved home to live with her mother a few weeks ago.

She now plans to set aside part of her monthly stipends for a cosmetology license and to buy makeup so she can begin offering workshops and classes, she said. 

She showed off her vision board for the year, and described the photos and quotes she pasted on a piece of paper: “Savings, 8 A’s, a candle, coffee, the bible, hot girls, driver’s license, and then my cosmetology license is also on there.”

“My birthday is about to come up, I’m going to be turning 20,” she continued. “And I’m trying to convert to better habits. So I’m like, ‘OK, let me lock in.’”

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.

Adams ordered the crackdown in 2022, pairing police with social workers to convince people sleeping on sidewalks to go to shelters.

Data shows few were placed in housing after sweeps

Mamdani said the practice of destroying encampments and carting individuals' possessions away will be a thing of the past once he takes the oath of office.

He said the policy, which cost millions and used a multi-agency task force to break up the encampments, was not very successful.

"They are simply pushing New Yorkers who are living in the cold to another place where they will live in the cold," Mamdani said.

Data shows that few people were actually removed from the street and given places to live. NYPD statistics obtained by CBS News New York show of the 3,676 encampments visited by police so far this year, 2,046 were successfully cleaned out, but only 117 people were placed in housing.

Since the sweeps began in March 2022, only 513 people were placed in accommodations, according to the statistics.

Homeless advocates say those numbers show a focus to treat the symptoms, not the cause.

"We've seen this with Mayor Adams that the main concern is creating the appearance that homelessness is being reduced by removing people from sight," Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Dave Giffin said. "And that's done without any thought to what's happening to those individuals who are being moved out of sight."

"If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you're doing to be a success," Mamdani said at an event Thursday.

Retired NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell pushed back on Mamdani's criticism.

"The quality of life of the city will go backwards again," he said. "When you don't have a plan in place, you can't dismantle the one that wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good."

How Mamdani's Department of Community Safety will help

Sources tell CBS News New York that Mamdani hopes to use his new Department of Community Safety to address the issue.

The department will employ social workers and other trained professionals to convince people experiencing homelessness that the street is not a good place to live, as well as find shelter for them.

"We are going to take an approach that understands its mission is connecting those New Yorkers to housing, whether it's supportive housing, whether it's rental housing, whatever kind of housing it is," Mamdani said. "Because what we have seen is the treatment of homelessness as if it is a natural part of living in this city, when in fact it's more often a reflection of a political choice being made time and time again."

Advocates say many living on the streets don't go to shelters because they fear they won't be safe there.

"We have to use the power of example. We have to get to work to ensure that when any New Yorker looks at shelters, looks at supportive housing, they see a better option than living on our streets," Mamdani said.

Advocates hope the program includes an assortment of options, such as housing vouchers, supportive housing and permanent placements.

More than 150,000 New York City public school students homeless, nonprofit finds

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A record 154,000 public school students were homeless during the last school year, according to a new report by nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York.

The nonprofit organization said this is the 10th consecutive year where more than 100,000 students did not have a permanent place to call home.

If the homeless students had their own school district, it would be one of the 20 largest educational systems in the country.

Nearly all the homeless students sleep in shelters or overcrowded apartments with other families.

"What the worrying part is for me, just making sure that she gets the proper education, for one. Equality is another, for two," said the mother of a displaced first-grader.

The mother, who did not want to be identified, has a 6-year-old with special needs.

"It's a lot of obstacles that I have to overcome," she said.

Jennifer Pringle, the project director for Advocates for Children, put the number into perspective.

"There are now more students who are homeless in NYC than the entire Dallas public school system," Pringle said.

In neighborhoods like East Harlem, Highbridge and Grand Concourse in the Bronx, and Brownsville and Bushwick in Brooklyn, more than one in five students experienced homelessness last year -- which is linked to more missed school days, poorer performance and a cycle sentencing more young adults to homelessness.

"It did take me 15 days with my daughter not being in school to navigate the system," the mother said.

Advocates say city agencies need to work together to maintain consistency as families move.

"It can't just be New York City public schools, they do not control where families are placed in shelter, we need all the city agencies at the table," Pringle said. "Placing more families closer to where the kids go to school."

Eyewitness News reached out to the city's Board of Education which outlined all the support for displaced students, saying, "Education is key to breaking the cycle of homelessness and we'll continue to strengthen our trauma-informed, cross-agency, data-driven strategies to help students."

The mother who spoke with Eyewitness News also mentioned better cross-agency communication would be helpful.

As for what is driving the increased homelessness among schoolchildren, advocates say it's the lack of affordable housing and families fleeing domestic violence.