Volunteer outreach group tells Manhattan CB2 it placed or referred 1,029 people, cites transportation and coordination gaps with DHS

Manhattan Community Board 2Human Services Committee members on Oct. 30 heard from the Street Homeless Advocacy Project (SHAP), which said its volunteer outreach teams have made 2,118 contacts and "placed or referred voluntarily" 1,029 people to safe havens, stabilization and mental-health programs, drug-treatment programs and job training over a little more than three years.

"Trust is the most important thing," said Norman Siegel, a civil-rights lawyer and organizer with SHAP, summarizing the group's model of repeated, predictable visits by small volunteer teams that attempt to build relationships and offer low-barrier entry to safe havens rather than immediate placement in congregate shelters.

Why it matters: SHAP's presentation highlighted two system-level bottlenecks that the group says reduce acceptance of placements: (1) delays and inconsistencies when outreach teams call the Department of Homeless Services' Joint Command Center (JCC) to verify vacancies and request transportation, and (2) a shortage of geographically convenient safe havens that would allow people to accept placement without being sent far from their neighborhood.

SHAP volunteers described a process in which an outreach worker confirms a person's name and date of birth, calls the JCC to see available vacancies, and requests transportation. SHAP leaders said the JCC…