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COVID-19 and Helping NYC’s Homeless

The Bardvark

By: Luca Katzen ‘22

    Anyone who has been outside during the pandemic has noticed the surge of homeless individuals on the streets. These unfortunate people who were struggling prior to the pandemic find themselves being turned away from shelters and unable to get to the few open food banks. Not to mention the public recreation centers that many homeless people used to shower and get water in are closed, so keeping clean and COVID-19 free during the pandemic has been tough if not impossible for the homeless. Volunteers are scarce, so New York State has relied on its small homeless outreach programs to do the work that thousands of volunteers and charities were doing before. So, what can you do?

    Call 311. We all know calling 311 is so tedious and annoying that it seems like it could never help anything. Nevertheless, calling 311 and asking for homeless outreach when you see someone who is begging or sleeping on the street in the cold (after asking them for permission to do so). You can also skip the hassle of calling 311 and submit a request through the 311 app. These are not requests for immediate assistance, so if a homeless person needs immediate medical attention, you should call 911 with their consent. More information about calling 311 can be found here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dhs/outreach/street-outreach.page 

Donate to local charities and shelters. If you see a lot of homeless people in your neighborhood and you don’t feel comfortable giving them money directly (which in many cases should not be advised) you can donate to a shelter near your house or a local charity. A good way to gage if a shelter near your house is a good place to donate money is to look at their Google Maps information. If a shelter is NY State funded then they won’t accept donations. In addition, if a shelter has a large amount of bad reviews about how homeless people are treated at the shelter, whether they are discriminatory towards a group of people (for example there are unfortunately some shelters that are unwilling to help LGBTQ+ individuals), or if they have adequate mental health resources you might consider donating to another shelter. If you choose this route of donation you should keep in mind that the poor reviews could be caused by the lack of money the shelter has to address problems like mental health support. Finally, if you can’t donate money to a shelter or charity you should consider volunteering. Many food banks can’t reopen because of the lack of volunteers but they are desperately needed to help the homeless. 

Talk to the homeless. If you feel comfortable doing so, talking to the homeless can be a great way to help the homeless directly, gage where you should donate money, or make a connection. Many homeless people (especially in the winter) are in desperate need of medical attention or basic necessities so bringing them a blanket or food or in severe cases, calling 911 (with their consent) can be an effective way to help a homeless person in need. Also, homeless people often complain about the lack of support their shelter is providing and their struggle to get food. These conversations can help you decide where you can donate to help them and if you can give them money directly. In general, buying something for a homeless person that they request might be more helpful than giving them cash because then you can be sure that your money will help them the most instead of worsening their situation. Lastly, many homeless people just need someone to talk to, by showing that you care about them you can help homeless people advocate for themselves. It is proven that when people know that others care about them, they are less likely to give up on themselves. This small gesture can go a long way for someone who might not have had a friend for a long time. 

  1. A list of good charities to donate to is on the last page

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