For many years, New York City has seen the growth the number of homelesswho in the summer usually live on the streets, and in the cold season they move to subway cars and ATMs of bank headquarters.
And in the middle of the fight against homelessness announced since January by the Mayor’s Administration Eric AdamsNow the private sector has also joined. Through a special fund, 61 companies will disburse $8,000 million to help get more people off the streets.
The plan is that with the money provided by companies such as Bank of America, Bloomberg, Capital One, Mastercard, MetLife Foundation, Pfizer Inc, Rockefeller Group y Wells Fargoamong others, improve resources to help place homeless people in temporary and permanent housing spaces, and connect them with other services, such as mental health and food assistance.
This was announced on Tuesday by the mayor adamsafter revealing the new initiative, in which he highlighted that the private sector has taken a step forward in the search for solutions to be able to reach out to thousands of New Yorkers who live homeless on the sidewalks of the Big Apple.
The president explained that the new funding will be handled through a “Homeless Assistance Fund,” with which the nonprofit organization Breaking Groundyou will be able to increase your outreach and connection with the homeless.
“When New Yorkers come together we can make more real progress“, commented the president, who criticized that the different sectors of the Big Apple have become accustomed to seeing people sleeping in the streets without doing what is necessary to help them.
“Here we normalize seeing people sleeping on trains and in MTA locations (…) many of them with mental conditions and I refused to ignore it and simply ignore it; it is inhumane,” assured Mayor Adams, who added that so far this year they have achieved remove 2,000 homeless people and connect them with services and shelter.
“This Administration has made it clear that we will not overlook our brothers and sisters who have come through difficult times,” the mayor said. “This initiative will offer them the assistance they urgently need.”
The goal is to expand the proyecto Connect to Care de Breaking Ground to hire the 100 more people that will be sent to the streets in various parts of the city starting in the fall, to help connect the homeless with housing and support.
“The Homeless Assistance Fund is a public-private partnership that will continue our work to address homelessness on the streets by bringing together more than 60 New York City businesses to offer support, resources and a path to homelessness. stability for the homeless the mayor said. “In concert with the city’s unprecedented efforts and investments in the subway and streets, we can ensure that none of our homeless brothers and sisters are left behind.”
Adams was also questioned about the immigrants who have been sent from the border to New York City, and mentioned that according to his data he estimates that there are 3,000 peopleand although he has insisted that more help is needed from the federal government, he also assured that initiatives like this and other municipal ones are ready to help that population.
Brenda Rosenpresident and executive director of the Breaking Ground association, stressed that the funds arrive at a vital moment, since currently there is only 5% of vacant spaces in the housing units they own in order to locate new homeless people coming off the streets.
“We are tremendously grateful to each of the companies that stepped up to expand Connect to Care’s reach to more homeless people,” said the activist. “While this is already an impactful program in New York, adding corporate funding to expand reach is crucial to closing gaps in services across the city.”
Kathryn Wyldepresident of the Association for the New York Cityassured that the private sector values the advances that the program managed by the Breaking Ground association has achieved by reaching out to the homeless in urgent need.
“The city’s business community believes that Connect to Care offers a tangible way to help address a humanitarian crisis that has become larger and more visible during the pandemic and demands a compassionate response from both the government and the private sector.” Wyld said.
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Anne Williams-Isomstressed that the problem of homelessness in the Big Apple requires joint actions to be resolved.
“To address homelessness in the city, a sustained multi-stakeholder approach will be needed. This announcement puts that approach into practice, with a strong public-private partnership and the recruitment of service providers on the ground,” said the official of the Adams Administration. “Thank you to the Partnership for New York City and all of our corporate partners and Breaking Ground for doing the hard work every day to reach homeless New Yorkers.”
Joseph TavarezPresident of Bank of America New Yorkmentioned that helping homeless New Yorkers get off the streets is a matter of dignity and respect.
“Bank of America’s support of the Homeless Assistance Fund allows us to address this critical issue in a caring and compassionate way.providing pathways out of homelessness for people on the street while boosting the city’s economy,” said the Latino executive, explaining that they will also launch an information campaign about available services.
“We plan to launch support campaigns in public transport centers and homeless places to provide them with the appropriate services and we have shared information with employees to show how to act in case someone needs help and we must recognize that this situation is not only for the public. and the private sector but we all have a responsibility to fix it and find a solution”, Tavarez added.
Charlie Scharf, president of Wells Fargo, an entity that joined the aid program, also highlighted that the
double crisis: economic and health, caused by the pandemic, has created a large number of challenges for New Yorkers and families, increasing the problem of homelessness, for which he urged that partnerships with the City continue to be promoted .
“The City’s recovery depends on public-private partnerships, and we’re proud to join the Partnership for New York City, Breaking Ground and others to expand support for homelessness and mental health issues,” he said. the executive.
Larry Knafo, BlackRock’s global director of business services, said helping solve the Big Apple’s homelessness crisis with a joint approach will move the city forward.
“We are proud to help scale this important initiative and drive progress in addressing the city’s mental health and homelessness challenges,” Knafo said. “This partnership will equip BlackRock employees from our New York Office with the tools to take action and make our community stronger and safer for all.”
Evan G. Greenbergpresident and CEO of Chubbsaid the homeless assistance initiative demonstrates the positive impact public-private partnerships can have in addressing societal challenges, such as homelessness and mental illness.”
“The health and vitality of our city depends on solutions that work for everyone, and we are pleased to be part of this important initiative that helps some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers get the assistance they need.”
Initiative data
- $8,000 million dollars will be invested to help homeless people on the streets
- 61 private companies are part of the initiative
- 2,000 homeless people on the streets have been helped with housing services this 2022, according to the Mayor’s Office
- Breaking Ground’s Connect to Care initiative has been implemented for 2 years
- 3,000 immigrants from the border also arrive homeless in the city
- 100 additional workers will be hired to approach homeless people
- 5% are current housing vacancies given by Breaking Ground
Organizations that will join the initiative
- Advance/Condé Nast
- Ainslie Foundation
- Apollo Global Management
- Bank of America
- BlackRock
- Blackstone
- Bloomberg LP
- BNY Mellon
- Brookfield Properties
- Capital One
- Carlyle
- Centerbridge Partners
- Chubb
- Crown Castle
- Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
- Deanna Mulligan, CEO, Purposeful
- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
- Deloitte
- Etsy, Inc.
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Evercore Foundation
- Fairstead
- First Republic Bank
- Fisher Brothers
- FOX News Media & News Corporation
- Glenwood
- Global Atlantic Financial Company
- Goldman Sachs Gives
- Hearst
- Interpublic Group
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- KPMG LLP
- Latham & Watkins LLP
- Marsh McLennan
- Mastercard
- MetLife Foundation
- Mizuho Americas
- Morgan Stanley
- Neuberger Berman
- New York Life
- Newmark & GFP Real Estate
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Pfizer Inc.
- PwC
- Ropes & Gray
- Rockefeller Group
- Sidley Austin LLP
- Silver Lake
- Silvercup Studios
- Solomon Partners
- SS&C Technologies
- Take-Two Interactive
- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
- The Related Companies, L.P.
- The Rudin Family
- The Travelers Companies, Inc.
- Tishman Speyer
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- Warburg Pincus
- Wells Fargo
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