Bulletin Board
The place where you can stay up to date with the latest events, stories, news, and opportunities for our City Relief community.
Week 6: An Invisible Crisis that Requires a Visible Response
Mental health is something I don't fully understand. Serious mental illness runs in my family, and chances are, it touches yours too. Maybe you've lived through a difficult season—depression, anxiety, or something harder—or walked with someone else through it. Mental illness is more common than we admit, and more complex than it appears.
Week 5: What We See, What We Judge: Substance Use Disorder, Homelessness, and Compassion
I've seen more track marks than I'd care to admit. I've poured bottles of liquor down storm drains handed to me by guests on their way to rehab. I've also lost dear friends to overdose, and it's heartbreaking when someone is finally ready for help, but can't access it due to insurance issues or restrictive Medicaid coverage.
Week 4: Mental Healthcare on the Streets
I met Maria in Harlem on a brisk April day in 2020. The city had come to a standstill. The world was telling everyone to "stay home," but Maria didn't have one. We were standing under the Metro-North tracks on Park Avenue, handing out meals in a city that had shuttered itself. As an organization, we didn't know what the consequences would be if we kept showing up. But we knew what would happen if we didn't.
The Vicious Cycle — How Homelessness Causes and Is Caused by Mental Illness
We like clean categories—stories that move neatly from cause to effect. But homelessness and mental illness defy that logic. This isn't a one-way street. It's a loop. A feedback cycle. A system that wears people down until even the strongest begin to break.
Week 2: A System Designed to Fail — How Deinstitutionalization Fueled Homelessness
When we look at the intersection of mental health and homelessness, we have to start with a critical turning point in U.S. history: the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric hospitals. Beginning in the 1960s and accelerating through the 1980s, states across the country closed large-scale mental health institutions with the promise of replacing them with community-based care.
Unhoused, Not Unwell: Rethinking Mental Illness and Homelessness
"Steve" is smart, articulate, and kind. But years of surviving on the street had aged him well beyond his years. His beard, tattered clothes, and slouched shoulders reflected what his quiet voice confirmed—he was struggling.
A Call to Generosity in Times of Crisis
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but the topic is way too big to cover in just five Fridays, so I will start next week and dive deeper into the connection between mental health and homelessness through June. For now, I'm pressing pause on the usual themes to talk briefly—and honestly—about something sensitive: money.
The Beautiful Minds That Refuse to Look Away
As Autism Acceptance Month comes to a close, I want to do more than acknowledge the challenges autistic people face, I want to celebrate those who are leading the charge for justice.
Moving from Awareness to Action: Reimagining a World for Unhoused Neurodivergent People
After sharing my last post about the intersection of autism and homelessness, I kept thinking about what happens after we finally see the problem. What comes next? Awareness is important, but it’s not enough.
Autism, Homelessness, and the Safety Net We Still Don’t Have
When I first started working on the streets of New York City and New Jersey, I was 24. I didn't have kids. I knew almost nothing about autism—especially how overwhelming noise, bright lights, and chaos could be for someone with sensory sensitivities.
Autism, Developmental Disabilities, and Homelessness
His name was Wes. He was in his late forties or early fifties, living in one of New York City's largest shelters on Ward's Island. Every Friday and Saturday, he’d come to our Harlem outreach, dropped off by a city bus, which transported residents into Manhattan to look for jobs, go to appointments, or simply pass the time.
The Overlooked Crisis of Period Poverty
At outreach in New York City, it is not uncommon for women who are experiencing homelessness to approach me and ask if I can help them access menstrual products. These requests are often whispered, almost as if they're ashamed to ask. But there's nothing shameful about needing basic hygiene—it’s a human necessity.
Megan’s Resilience—and Why It Shouldn’t Be This Hard
This week, I want to continue our conversation about the realities of homelessness for women by highlighting the immense challenges single moms face as they try to juggle work, school, and childcare—all without the stability of a home.
Women & Homelessness: Breaking the Cycle of “Stuckness”
One of the first women I met doing outreach in New York City was Tricia (not her real name). She was in her mid-forties, trying to escape a cycle of trauma, addiction, and violence. Taking methadone for opioid recovery, she also needed anxiety medication for PTSD, but the combination left her drowsy and vulnerable on the streets. Shelter rules forced her outside during the day, leaving her exposed to dangers she couldn't fend off. She couldn't work, couldn't stop treatment without unbearable withdrawal, and most of all—she couldn't find a way out. She was stuck.
Why listening matters…
As an advocate for homelessness, I wanted to share a powerful story that I recently came across in the New York Times. The article, written by Tracy Kidder, is about a doctor named Jim O'Connell, who has dedicated his life to caring for the homeless population in Boston. What makes his approach unique is his commitment to listening to the stories of the people he serves.
Your Place in the Domino Effect
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge was recently interviewed by NPR. In her interview, Secretary Fudge noted that the issues causing homelessness - namely housing affordability and housing discrimination - were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the general public does not even realize the populations that are being hit the hardest.
The Upside Down Kingdom at 7-Eleven
God’s Kingdom is backwards from the way our world works. “The first will be last” or “That you must die to live” are ideas so contrary to the way we live that we often easily forget. This week Chief Executive Officer, Josiah Haken, got a reminder, at 7-Eleven.
It’s a Miracle!
I don’t know about you, but my definition of a “miracle” is quite lofty and nearly unattainable. There are only a few times I have truly experienced anything that I would slap a “miracle” sticker on with such a distinguished definition.
New York City Relief: HFNY Volunteers Share Why They Serve
Hope for New York helps provide volunteers for various locations and, recently New York City Relief showcased some HFNY volunteers at their South Bronx location. Hear from Beth Tepes, one of the volunteers, and why she was impacted from volunteering.
What Can I Do About Homelessness?
The most common question that I get about homelessness is simply, “what should I do?”