Homes for the Homeless

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Homes for the Homeless is an organization which provides housing and employment trainining for homeless people in New York City. It was founded in 1986 through a collaboration with Leonard N. Stern, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the city of New York.

Homes for the Homeless recognizes that homelessness is not merely a housing problem – it is an education problem and a family problem, and predominantly, it is a poverty problem. Homes for the Homeless aims to alleviate the problems of poverty by providing our families with the tools necessary to move families out of the shelters and prepare them to live on their own. These include educational resources, job training resources, health services, and the summer camps that are so valuable to the children living in our shelters.

Homes for the Homeless operates five transitional shelters, called American Family Inns, in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. The Family Inns serve over 630 homeless families and over 1,200 homeless children each day. Homes for the Homeless also operates three summer camps for New York City homeless children. Camp Kiwago, Camp Lanowa, and Camp Wakonda are located in New York's Harriman State Park and serve almost 1000 children each summer.

The continuum of care offered at the American Family Inns includes needs assessment and case management; healthcare services; family counseling and preservation; and housing search assistance. As their basic needs are fulfilled, families are encouraged to look beyond the daily obstacles presented by homelessness and participate in education and training to equip themselves with the skills they need to gain independence. Concurrent education and recreation programs for children ensure that the whole family is helped to overcome the debilitating effects of homelessness.

In 1990, Homes for the Homeless founded The Institute for Children and Poverty, a research and development organization. The Institute for Children and Poverty (ICP) focuses on research designed to study family homelessness and inform public policy on this complex issue. ICP also works to raise awareness of family homelessness through educational materials.