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.
New York is the most populous city in the United States. A global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural capital of the world.
Many districts and landmarks in New York City have become well known to its 50 million annual visitors. Times Square, iconified as "The Crossroads of the World", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway theatre district and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. New York City's financial district, anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, has been called the world's leading financial center and is home to the New York Stock Exchange.
Randalls Island (also called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated from Manhattan by the Harlem River, from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate, and from the Bronx by the Bronx Kill. The two islands were formerly separate, with the channel between them, Little Hell Gate, being filled in by the early 1960s. Most of the island is parkland, spanning a total of 432.69 acres. The parks offer athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds and picnic grounds. The island is crossed by the Triborough and Hell Gate bridges. The island can be reached by the Triborough Bridge; the Wards Island Bridge, which serves pedestrians and bicyclists and links the island to East Harlem in Manhattan; or by the Randalls Island Connector, a pedestrian and cycling bridge crossing the Bronx Kill and connecting to the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. Randalls Island is the home of three music festivals: Governors Ball Music Festival, Panorama Music Festival, and Electric Zoo Festival.