Formerly Homeless New Yorkers Lead Street Outreach Effort in Manhattan

A Manhattan-based outreach initiative is using workers who themselves experienced homelessness to connect chronically homeless New Yorkers with housing and services. The Neighborhood Navigators program, launched by the Manhattan district attorney's office, aims to keep people off the streets and out of the criminal justice system. Outreach worker Felipe Ramos, who has lived through homelessness, incarceration and mental illness, said his background helps him build trust with people he encounters on Manhattan's streets. The Mamdani administration awarded the program $1.25 million this year as the city develops a broader homelessness strategy. Nearly 5,000 people slept on the street, in parks or in the subway this year, the highest figure in over a decade. District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the office started the program after seeing people fall through gaps between city agencies. The DA's office contracted nonprofit The Bridge to run it starting in 2024, using forfeiture funds, and more than 175 people have since been placed in housing. The program currently operates in Central and East Harlem, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, Washington Heights, Inwood, and parts of Midtown West including Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea. Workers say building long-term relationships, sometimes spending entire days with a single client, has been key to their results.