Since 1985, Care for the Homeless has met the health care and social service needs of homeless people in New York City. Homeless people have special needs that make it difficult to access services. For example, homeless people are most often displaced from their neighborhood of origin, do not have regular access to a phone, and focus on seeking shelter and food, not health care and social services.
To reduce barriers that homeless people face in accessing care, Care for the Homeless coordinates health care at 23 service sites where homeless people congregate and without regard to their ability to pay. Our service sites include shelters for single adults, family shelters, soup kitchens, drop-in centers, SROs, and a street outreach program to the mentally ill in four of New York City's five boroughs.
In addition to these basic health-related services, our contracted medical providers refer clients, when appropriate, to our social service professionals who address a range of psychosocial needs among homeless people, including mental health and substance use services, and entitlement benefits, including help with Medicaid.
With adventurous art, international cuisine, gorgeous parks and world-class sporting events, Queens features attractions to satisfy nearly every taste. Sports lovers can watch the New York Mets play baseball at Citi Field and, in a venue nearly adjacent, see the US Open host the world’s best tennis players. But in Queens, every day can be an event, whether you’re sampling the delectable Greek cuisine of Astoria or authentic Chinese food in Flushing. View inventive art at MoMA PS1 and Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, and take in the stunning flora at the Queens Botanical Garden.
Astoria has long been known as a Greek neighborhood, and it’s unquestionably a great place to get dishes with calamari, feta, and other Mediterranean staples. But there are communities, and culinary options, from the rest of the world, notably the Middle East, India, and Brazil. Astoria’s proximity to Manhattan—it’s 20 minutes from Times Square by subway—has made it popular with young, artsy New Yorkers, who’ve opened galleries alongside longtime cultural favorites like the Museum of the Moving Image and historic Kaufman Astoria Studios, where several current TV series make their home.
Forest Hills’ gently rolling rows of Tudor houses and tulip trees are secluded and relaxed. The area sometimes feels like a throwback, with old-school pizza parlors, sweets shops, knisheries and a train station that looks unchanged from when Teddy Roosevelt spoke there 100 years ago. Famous for Forest Hills Stadium, the venue the Beatles played in 1964 (reborn as a concert stage in 2013), the neighborhood is partially bordered by Forest Park, which holds a popular golf course, and is renowned as the birthplace of the Ramones and Simon & Garfunkel and as the childhood home of Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man).
Established in the early 20th century by Irish settlers, the planned community of Sunnyside Gardens now sits as a treasured historic district in Sunnyside. The neighborhood retains a heavy Irish influence—especially when it comes to cuisine—and a verdant vibe with courtyards and tree-lined streets. It also boasts residents from around the world—including Romania, Korea, Greece and South America—making a trip to the neighborhood’s shops, restaurants, and pubs an intriguing wander.
Queens hosts various museums and cultural institutions that serve its diverse communities. They range from the historical to the scientific, from conventional art galleries to unique graffiti exhibits. Queens's cultural institutions include, but are not limited to: 5 Pointz, Afrikan Poetry Theatre, Bowne House, Flushing Town Hall, King Manor, Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Noguchi Museum, New York Hall of Science, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Queens Botanical Garden, Queens Museum of Art, SculptureCenter, Thalia Spanish Theater, and the Ganesh Temple, Flushing, Queens.