For over 42 years the Coalition for the Homeless, with our partners at The Legal Aid Society, has zealously defended and successfully expanded the legal Right to Shelter for anyone experiencing homelessness in New York. Throughout that period, there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to erode this right despite dramatic increases in homelessness, primarily among Black and Latinx people.
On May 23, 2023, as the City continued to experience an influx of asylum seekers and other new arrivals, Mayor Adams launched a series of attempts to undermine the legal mandates that ensure that no one is relegated to sleeping on the streets of New York. Using the humanitarian crisis as a scapegoat for their failure to reduce the soaring preexisting shelter population, the Adams Administration has asked to modify the Callahan consent decree to limit the City’s legal obligations. But the modifications sought by the City would do nothing but remove critical fundamental protections for vulnerable people and result in thousands of people sleeping on city streets, exposed to the elements.
The Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid Society are fighting to preserve for decades to come the Right to Shelter and the dignity of all unhoused individuals and families regardless of the place from which they hail.
Continue to visit this page for updates and additional information.
Take Action
