NYC to launch volunteer homeless outreach program in August, calls on New Yorkers to sign up

Mayor Adams and longtime civil rights attorney Norman Siegel called on everyday New Yorkers to aid the city in its push to get homeless people off the streets as part of a new pilot program the city plans to launch next month.

The program, which the city has dubbed the Street Homeless Advocacy Project, or SHAP, will rely on volunteers who’ll undergo training and be dispatched to three locations in Manhattan and one in the Bronx in an attempt to coax homeless people into accepting services offered by the city as well as by private non-profits.

“Those who want to simplify the complexity of homelessness — there’s a reason no one has gotten it right thus far,” Adams said at a City Hall press conference announcing the new plan. “Part of that reason is because no one was willing to listen to all aspects of this. This administration is willing to hear those who have great ideas.”

The planned launch date for SHAP, which is the brainchild of Siegel and which will not receive any funding from the city, is August 1.

Volunteers will report to City Hall to prepare for their outreach on Thursday nights, venture out to speak with the city’s homeless and then debrief about their efforts later that night, according to Siegel, who added that pizza and plant-based offerings would be part of the deal for volunteers.

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“In the Sixties, Americans expressed the commitment to racial equality by participating in the southern civil rights movement. Many — including New Yorkers, including myself — took direct action, traveling to the south and committing ourselves to the protection of the rights of Black Americans,” Siegel said. “Today, it is time for New York to create teams of concerned residents — students, hopefully you’re listening — formerly homeless people, social workers, doctors, lawyers and people from all walks of life … With appropriate residential options, we believe that street homelessness in New York can be ameliorated.”

In recent weeks, the city has seen its shelter system become increasingly overburdened, with its total shelter population exceeding 48,000 as of Monday. And as more families have streamed into the system, the city has once again turned to two notorious landlords to provide assistance. Jay and Stuart Podolsky, who former Mayor Bill de Blasio notoriously dealt with in 2019, are now leasing at least three of their hotels to the city as shelters for the homeless, a story first reported in City Limits.

That development underscores the growing urgency around the issue of homelessness, which Adams has attempted to address by adding more beds and sweeping homeless encampments from the subway system and streets.

The encampment sweeps are an issue Adams and Siegel have publicly disagreed on, but Adams said it wouldn’t stop him from working with Siegel on what he views as a solid way to get New Yorkers more civically involved.

The training for the program will involve sessions on the legal underpinnings of New York’s right to shelter laws, the rules of the shelter system and role-playing exercises designed to prepare for actual outreach.

“We hope our first training session will be August 1,” said Siegel, who noted that volunteers would be vetted before being approved for participation.

The city’s government already spends billions of dollars each year to address homelessness. When asked whether a volunteer program signals an acknowledgment that such spending is flawed, Adams conceded that the city spends “billions on an inferior product” and seemed to leave the door open to possibly cutting the city’s budget for homelessness down the road.

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“We keep believing: throw money at a problem. Money thrown at dysfunctional actions is going to produce a dysfunctional outcome,” he said. “Everybody believes throw more money, throw more money. No. We’re just not going to do that.”

He then suggested that SHAP could eventually be transformed into a municipal version of Americorps, but with a focus on homelessness.

“We’re not in abundance with our budget. We’re going to go through some serious financial challenges in the next few years,” he said. “Where we are rich is in human capital.”

But later in this press conference, Adams appeared to backtrack a bit, noting that Siegel’s program isn’t being implemented to replace any services currently offered by the city.

“This is not in replacement of what we’re doing as a city. This is a compliment to,” he said.

To sign up for SHAP, New Yorkers can contact the program at [email protected] or at 212-537-6772.