Posted on September 12, 2025 by Gresham Worth This summer marked another busy season for Coalition for the Homeless youth programs. Project: Back to School, Bound for Success, and Camp Homeward Bound touched the lives of thousands of homeless children in shelters across New York City. Project: Back to School: meeting the growing need Our annual backpack distribution reached new heights this year, with nearly 7,000 backpacks delivered to children in 60 shelters throughout the city before the first day of school – far more than the 5,000 backpacks we distributed last year. We are exceedingly grateful to the generous New Yorkers who raised their hand to support our Project: Back to School drive. Each backpack was stuffed with essential school supplies, giving students the tools they need to start the academic year prepared and confident.For children navigating the challenges of homelessness, these gestures of generosity, though small, provide a meaningful sense of normalcy and belonging. If you would still like to give to our Project: Back to School drive, you can by visiting our site and making a donation. Bound for Success: learning through summer fun Bound for Success (BFS) offers a seven-week summer program for homeless children living in two NYC shelters. This past summer, kids experienced weekly field trips to numerous sites in and around the city, including White Post Farms, Liberty Science Center, New York Aquarium, and Sesame Place. The program also incorporated learning themes to spark imagination and creativity. The “Color of the Week” initiative was particularly successful, with children and staff finding innovative ways to incorporate the week’s featured color into activities, clothing, and even food. A highlight for the kids was when they got to make their own ice cream, using food coloring to match the week’s theme. Daily journal writing provided valuable moments of reflection, and our staff noticed improvements in the kids’ writing skills throughout the program. These journals not only enhanced literacy but gave children a private space to express themselves and process their experiences. Outside of the summer months, Bound for Success offers a critical after-school program in the shelters, providing one-on-one tutoring support that helps the children keep up with their peers academically. Camp Homeward Bound: a transformative escape Our lakeside summer camp in Harriman State Park welcomed 308 campers this summer, continuing its 41-year tradition as the nation’s longest-running sleep-away camp designed specifically for homeless children. We were thrilled that CHB was featured by The New York Times, CBS Evening News, and our ambassador Taryn Delanie Smith, helping introduce this amazing camp to a whole new audience. As Camp Homeward Bound director Beverly McEntarfer noted to CBS, “Some of the kids have been in the shelter for six years. They really lose their childhood.” CHB reignites a childhood that everyone is deserving of. Through swimming, biking, arts and crafts, and more, the exchange of sirens and streetlights for cicadas and stars invites a chance to feel renewed and refreshed before returning to the city and starting school. The impact of CHB extends beyond summer fun. Former camper Cici Johnson, now a 17-year-old camp counselor with aspirations to become a pediatric neurologist, shared: “I hope [the campers] realize that they do not deserve what they’re going through. Yes, some things can be hard, but things will get better, even if they don’t feel like it will.” For many campers, the natural setting itself is transformative. One camper told The New York Times while gazing at the lake: “The mountains, the islands, the sky. It feels like you’re in heaven.” Thanks to the success of the CHB 40th Anniversary Capital Campaign earlier in the year, we were able to complete much-needed renovations and improvements around the campsite, including new drainage pipes and trenches, fresh blacktop graded for erosion control, and a retaining wall to protect our beloved beach from losing its sand every time it rains. These efforts mark our commitment to ensuring that our campers have the best experience possible – and the experience they deserve. Each of the Coalition’s youth programs serves a unique purpose in supporting homeless kids, but they share a common goal: creating spaces where children can simply be kids, despite their challenging circumstances, and the Coalition works every day to promote pathways out of homelessness, so all children can thrive in a life of housing stability, and peace.
