Manhattan Outreach Consortium

In 2005, the Mayor announced a plan to reduce the number of chronically street homeless adults in New York City by two-thirds over five years. In response, Goddard Riverside, the lead agency, and the Center for Urban Community Services, the lead support agency, along with other neighborhood-based organizations developed a model, the Manhattan Outreach Consortium. It was selected by the City to provide outreach and housing placement services to those living on the streets. Through a $4.5 million contract with the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS), the Consortium is the single point of accountability in the borough responsible for all outreach and housing placement services.

MOC Success
The Manhattan Outreach Consortium, led by Goddard Riverside, placed 1,285 homeless individuals in transitional or permanent housing since September 2007, contributing to a 31% decline in street homelessness in Manhattan in 2010. The decline is calculated by the NYC Department of Homeless Services annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) Count, a nationally-recognized street census that is highly regarded for its scientific rigor. The results of this year’s HOPE Count reported nearly 40% fewer homeless individual sleeping on the streets of New York City since 2005. The estimated 2648 unsheltered individuals were counted by 3000 volunteers who canvassed the streets of NYC between midnight and 4am on the night of January 31. In Manhattan 769 street homeless people were counted, down 31 percent from 2010.

Consortium Members
The Manhattan Outreach Consortium includes Goddard Riverside Community Center (lead agency), Center for Urban Community Services (lead support agency), Common Ground Community, and Urban Pathways.

Neighborhood-based Model
The Manhattan Outreach Consortium focuses on moving people off the streets and into permanent housing as quickly as possible. Members are assigned to neighborhoods they know well with long histories of addressing community issues. Manhattan has been divided into five catchment areas with Consortium members assigned to each area. Goddard Riverside Outreach is responsible for two catchment areas: 110th to 59th Street on the West Side, including Central Park, and the lower part of Manhattan below Tenth Street. The Consortium is coordinating service delivery among its partners to eliminate duplication and facilitate the sharing of information and continuity of care. Service integration is paramount to the strength of the initiative with measured performance objectives and accountability closely monitored.

The Consortium maximizes the resources of each member to expedite the placement of chronically homeless individuals in Manhattan into permanent housing with access to social, medical, mental health and substance abuse services. This model is recognized as critical to achieving long-term outcomes and meeting the goal of informing a systemic change in the way outreach to the homeless is currently conducted in New York City.

To alert the Consortium of a homeless person in Manhattan who needs help, call 311.

Contact:
Kristen Edwards, kedwards@goddard.org
Director, Manhattan Outreach Consortium
(212) 595-3066