Street to Home
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Common Ground’s Street to Home program helps people living on the streets move directly into homes. We identify and house the most vulnerable: those who have been homeless the longest, have the most disabling conditions, and are least likely to access housing resources. These individuals typically spend years cycling between emergency shelters, hospitals, and jails. Once housed, we connect them with services that help them get back on their feet and participate in their own rehabilitation.
87% Reduction in Homelessness:
Street to Home – an innovative approach to outreach – reduced homelessness in the 20 blocks surrounding Times Square by 87% over a two-year period.
Now a Citywide Strategy:
Based on its success, the Street to Home strategy was adopted in 2007 by the City of New York to drive a two-thirds reduction in street homelessness by 2010. The Department of Homeless Services’ seventh annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) Count of New York City’s street homeless indicates that homeless levels throughout all five boroughs dropped 30% from 2008 to 2009. This figure represents a decline of 47% since 2005. To learn more, click here.
How Street to Home is Different:
Street to Home replaces traditional “outreach” services with housing placement assistance targeted at the most vulnerable homeless. Street to Home identifies and prioritizes the most vulnerable individuals on the street, assesses and negotiates housing options with those individuals, then houses and retains individuals in their homes.
Supportive Housing is Cost-Effective:
This year, New York City will spend more than $730 million to operate its shelter system, at an average cost of $54/person/ night. For $36/night, Common Ground provides a home and support: on-site social services tenants need to maintain their housing, restore their health, regain their economic independence, and improve their lives. Once housed, our tenants are no longer in shelters, in hospitals ($1,185/ night), in jails ($164/night), or psychiatric institutions ($467/night). For $14,000/year, we can help turn people’s lives around.
Progress:
Last year Street to Home served 2,069 clients and placed 498 adults in transitional and permanent housing.
Street to Home Partners:
Common Ground and its partners are responsible for covering the entire boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Our Partners:
Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens
The Bridge
Center for Urban Community Services
Goddard Riverside
John Heuss House
Lenox Hill
Pathways to Housing
Urban Pathways
Street to Home Methodology:
Street to Home was inspired by the Rough Sleepers Initiative, which reduced homelessness in Great Britain by two-thirds over three years. Rosanne Haggerty, Common Ground’s founder and president, brought the concept to New York City, where the process was adapted to the City’s needs, and then tested and refined. The process:
- Establish an accurate registry of street homeless by identifying individuals who are permanently living on the street. This is done for each neighborhood.
- Prioritize for housing those who are the most vulnerable, by means of a vulnerability index that calculates the impact of disease and other risk factors.
- Simplify the process for helping individuals secure permanent housing; assist them in all aspects of the process, e.g., filling out forms, obtaining benefits.
- Arrange for personalized services, e.g., mental health counseling, job training, financial management, to assist individuals with maintaining their new homes and creating stable and purposeful lives.
Street to Home Replication
Based on the success of the Times Square effort, many communities are adapting the Street to Home strategy. The Common Ground National has provided training and support in locations throughout the country and across the globe. To learn more about our Street to Home replication click here.
