Coalition for the Homeless

The Coalition for the Homeless is the nation’s oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless individuals and families. We believe that affordable housing, sufficient food and the chance to work for a living wage are fundamental rights in a civilized society. Since our inception in 1981, the Coalition has worked through litigation, public education and direct services to ensure that these goals are realized. Callahan v. Carey, our first legal victory over the City of New York in 1981, guaranteed the bedrock right to shelter for all New Yorkers. That triumph helped broadcast our conviction that every homeless person – regardless of his or her level of turmoil – deserves to live with dignity and respect. Since then, the Coalition for the Homeless has fought for lasting solutions to the crisis of mass homelessness through litigation, advocacy, grassroots organizing, public education, and direct services. Every day, our 11 frontline programs help more than 3,500 men, women, and children survive immediate crises and put them on the path to long-term stability. We witness firsthand the challenges they face and shape our services to best meet their needs, providing emergency food and clothing, eviction prevention, crisis services, permanent housing, job training and special programs for homeless youth.

Our renowned advocacy tirelessly fights for investments in proven, cost-effective housing-based solutions to mass homelessness. Our first legal victory, Callahan v. Carey, established the Right to Shelter for homeless adult men — a crucial first step in our subsequent victories on behalf of homeless women and children. Since then, the Coalition has won a string of legal actions including securing medically appropriate housing for people living with HIV/AIDS, ensuring the right to vote for Americans without homes, and compelling the City to make the shelter system accessible to people with disabilities.

The Coalition is a vocal and invaluable city and statewide resource for people without homes, at-risk populations, other advocates and service providers, policymakers and the public at large. We have earned the reputation as the most credible source of information on homelessness, its causes, and solutions.