As New Yorkers, we’re all too familiar with images of our neighbors in need of care and support. We may see them asking for money or food, sleeping on park benches or subway cars, or walking in cold weather without a shirt or shoes.
These individuals need and deserve help. And starting today, our Neighborhood Navigators will hit the streets of Manhattan to offer that help.
Neighborhood Navigators have experienced homelessness, substance use disorders, or mental health issues themselves, and who understand exactly how those in crisis are suffering. They will work to build trusting relationships with unhoused individuals who spend significant time on the street.
The ultimate goal is to voluntarily connect them to longer-term services such as housing and medical care. Navigators are funded through an unprecedented $6 million investment from my office to the nonprofit organization The Bridge, which will manage the initiative. This voluntary program seeks to proactively address very real human needs, and........