Arnold Cohen's Letter to Mayor Bloomberg

June 27, 2008

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

I write because the Department of Homeless Services is considering issuing a Request for Proposal, putting out for bid the Emergency Shelter Network organized and administered for the last 25 years by the Partnership for the Homeless. It’s our understanding that a new DHS RFP would attempt to essentially duplicate services currently provided by the Partnership through our Shelter Network, a move that we see not only as unnecessary, but potentially detrimental to the thousands of homeless individuals we assist each year.

The Partnership’s Emergency Shelter Network is not simply a contractual relationship with the faith community that can be easily transferred to another agency; it was an idea born over a quarter of century ago by Mayor Ed Koch and the Partnership’s founder, Peter Smith, to provide homeless adults with safe, overnight lodging, wholesome meals, and fellowship.

The Partnership for the Homeless, thus, was not the answer to an RFP, but emerged organically from the faith community, and became the unifying force of a movement to end homelessness. Clergy and volunteers continue to play a major role in the direction of the Network and the Partnership. Indeed, they are members of the Partnership, have sat on our Board, and have important governance roles.

And we are proud that the Network is one of the most successful public-private partnerships in the country, providing shelter and community to hundreds of homeless adults each night in our great city.

The 100-plus churches and synagogues who are members of the Emergency Shelter Network are motivated by their spiritual beliefs to serve single homeless men and women. This faith-based shelter system is unique in that it is entirely volunteer-run; the rewards of bringing aid and comfort to a fellow human being are the most important incentives for continuing to participate.

As one Brooklyn volunteer noted, “the blessings that emanate from this program go way beyond it—to the volunteers who have the opportunity to serve and to the community as a whole. The Partnership’s faith-based shelters change attitudes of people throughout the community about homelessness.”

The Partnership plays a pivotal role in making the Emergency Shelter Network run smoothly, applying lessons learned over many years to recruit and train volunteers, set up new shelters, coordinate activities between congregations, and monitor overall effectiveness. For example, churches and synagogues that cannot provide space often provide volunteers for those that can; the Partnership initiates and fosters these relationships within the faith community throughout the city.


The Emergency Shelter Network is now much greater than the sum of its parts; over the years, it has become a model of ecumenical unification and cooperation that plays a vital and irreplaceable role in helping the city meet its obligation to protect and house its most vulnerable residents.

It is also highly unlikely that any new program mandated by a city contract can match the quality, compassion and cost-effectiveness now provided by the small paid staff of the Partnership and thousands of seasoned volunteers that are proud to call themselves members of the Partnership’s Emergency Shelter Network.

The Partnership’s current work goes well beyond overnight shelter and addresses the personal and societal causes of homelessness, including the shortage of permanent affordable and/or supportive housing for single adults and families. However, these permanent solutions must build on the many positive and nurturing aspects of the current, voluntary faith-based shelter system.

This is the approach we sincerely hope the City of New York will pursue, within the context of prevailing budgetary constraints. We share your sentiment of wanting to work as effectively as possible with the current population of homeless people as we move toward the ultimate solution of providing permanent housing for all who need it.

We acknowledge that there are ways to improve efficiencies in the system as we work simultaneously to finding permanent solutions to homelessness. Areas for improvement include Drop-in Center operations, guest transport to faith-based shelters, and greater standardization of shelter supplies and equipment. We look forward to our continued collaboration with DHS on these issues, but at the same time see an intact Emergency Shelter Network as part of the solution.

Our experience here at the Partnership also suggests that there are approaches that go beyond the current Emergency Shelter Network. And the Partnership, along with representatives of our faith network, are prepared to work with the Department of Homeless Services in making changes, which include some of the following:

1. Drop-in Centers
A. New Safe Haven beds do not preclude the need for Drop-in Centers. Drop-in Centers provide the professional screening of guests that facilitates appropriate overnight placement, including referrals to Safe Havens, stabilization beds, hospitals, or an Emergency Shelter Network bed.

B. Emergency Shelter Network members should continue to provide overnight shelter, with an eye toward expanding their current capacity while maintaining their relationship to the Drop-in Centers. The Partnership will play a leadership role in fostering this expansion, and already have been in conversation with churches and synagogues about expanding their capacity.
2. Safe Havens
A. While the development of affordable housing (with wraparound services) is paramount, we recognize the need for transitional Safe Havens for chronically homeless adults.

B. The Partnership can help increase bed capacity of Safe Havens through:
i. Connecting selected Network shelters to a specific Safe Haven, focusing on those shelters that are already operating seven days week, year-round;
ii. Connecting regular and recurring Safe Haven staff to shelters within the Partnership’s network;
iii. Recruitment by the Partnership of new churches/synagogues to the Emergency Shelter Network to provide overnight beds for Safe Havens
C. Safe Havens, therefore, will become a key service hub, with a relationship to each faith-based shelter – and could provide some ancillary services in the shelter.

D. As the longtime coordinator of Emergency Shelter Network activities, the Partnership can
i. Provide enhanced and more specialized volunteer training to help with a slightly different population – one, perhaps, of greater need.
ii. Provide greater direct support from Partnership staff to facilitate working relationships between our Network shelters and the Safe Havens.
iii. Coordinate staffing in instances where a church/synagogue should have an overnight paid staff person to deal with more complex needs.

3. Leveraging and expanding the role of our volunteers. The Partnership will help build social capital for newly housed individuals from Safe Havens or Drop-in Centers by connecting faith-based volunteers with these individuals, creating a new support system and becoming a personal, one-on-one guide to community integration.

4. Continued DHS Logistical Support. The Partnership will continue to provide all the logistical support for the Department of Homeless Services – including transportation and supply management. And through the Partnership’s other (public and private) funding sources, we will continue to supply over 400,000 healthy meals at all Emergency Shelter Network sites, along with a nutrition resource manager to monitor food preparation and dietary needs.

It’s fair to say that the Partnership for the Homeless has partnered with the City of New York for almost as long as our faith-based shelters. In that time together, we have both learned a great deal about the increasingly complex problem of homelessness.

Given this shared experience, we sincerely hope we can continue to work with the city by leveraging our significant (and not easily duplicated) relationships with the faith-based community and our volunteers. By working together, I have no doubt we can make our Emergency Shelter Network even better and more responsive to the needs of New York’s City homeless individuals.

Please let me know if the Partnership or our Emergency Shelter Network members can provide additional information. We look forward to continuing this dialogue with you and the Department of Homeless Services.

Sincerely,

Arnold S. Cohen

cc: Commissioner Robert Hess, NYC Department of Homeless Services
Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs, Office of the Mayor
Edward Cardinal Egan, The Archdiocese of New York
Rev. Michael McAllister, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Fred R. Anderson, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church
Rev. William Tully, St. Bartholomew's Church
Rabbi Ami Hirsch, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rabbi Rolando Matalon, Congregation B'nai Jeshurun
Mr. Robert Liebeskind, New York Society for Ethical Culture
Mr. Donald Layton, E* Trade Financial Corp. (Partnership Board Chair)
Mr. Richard Cohen, Capital Properties, Inc. (Partnership Board Member)