Mayor Adams Opens Safe Haven Facility, Expanding Shelter Access and Other Services to New Yorkers Experiencing Homelessness

March 29, 2022

Video available at: https://youtu.be/sLxvfdB51YI

Safe Haven Facility Will Provide Medical, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Services On-Site, Includes 80 Beds to Serve New Yorkers Experiencing Homelessness

Part of ~500 Additional Low-Barrier Beds Announced in Subway Safety Plan

Over 350 of Promised 500 Beds Will Be Open to Serve New Yorkers This Week

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the opening of the Morris Avenue Safe Haven site in the Bronx, as part of his administration’s continued commitment to connecting New Yorkers experiencing homelessness with access to high-quality shelters and services. The facility will provide 80 beds to New Yorkers in need and will offer dedicated services and medical care on-site, including supports to address mental health and substance use challenges. This Safe Haven is also part of the approximately 500 new low-barrier beds Mayor Adams announced as part of his Subway Safety Plan last month. As of this week, over 350 of the announced 500 beds will be online, with additional beds opening in the coming weeks.

“For too long there have been New Yorkers unseen by our government, but we will no longer abandon our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness to lives of suffering and pain,” said Mayor Adams. “The opening of the Morris Avenue Safe Haven, and others like it, will provide unhoused New Yorkers a place to live, heal, and be cared for. Not only are we offering safe spaces to those experiencing homelessness, but we’re offering New Yorkers second chances. The 80 beds at this location will be a part of the 500 beds opening in the coming weeks. Instead of trapping New Yorkers in a labyrinth of despair, we are making sure those who have been lost are found again by providing a path to stability, long-term housing, lasting community, and common purpose.”

“Our home is one of our anchors in life and today, this announcement provides additional opportunities for more of our fellow New Yorkers to move toward securing stable, permanent housing,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “Thank you to our partners in the field, the staff that provide compassionate, caring services to clients experiencing homelessness, and to the mayor for his continued commitment to this issue. More Safe Haven beds are needed and more will become available in the near future.”

“We are doubling down on our commitment to help New Yorkers experiencing unsheltered homelessness get back on their feet, which is why we continue to develop specialized resources dedicated to helping New Yorkers in need come off the streets and subways, with thousands of such beds already serving vulnerable New Yorkers citywide,” said New York City Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary P. Jenkins. “This Safe Haven builds on our commitment, and in partnership with not-for-profit provider-partner Care for the Homeless, this site will prove to be a vital resource for our neighbors in need — helping stabilize their lives while encouraging further transition into more permanent housing settings. While there is always more work to be done, New Yorkers should be proud of the positive impact our outreach teams have had on so many lives — and we remain focused on redoubling those efforts and reaching those New Yorkers we have not been able to reach yet, rebuilding trust, and making those important breakthroughs in a caring and compassionate manner.”

“The Adams administration has brought added and much-needed attention to the problem of street homelessness in New York City,” said George Nashak, president, Care for the Homeless (CFH). “CFH is proud to partner with Commissioner Jenkins and his team to create effective solutions that bring people indoors, provide high-quality health care and social services, and help clients achieve permanent housing. These are the solutions to street homelessness. CFH is grateful to have the opportunity to open the Morris Avenue Safe Haven.”

At this location, shelter provider Care for the Homeless will also operate a Federally-Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC). This full-service licensed health center will provide comprehensive primary health care and behavioral health care to the residents on site, as well as other individuals experiencing homelessness and housing instability in the area. 

Safe Havens and stabilization beds are small-scale, low-barrier programs specifically tailored for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness who may be resistant to accepting or who may not be best served by other services, including traditional transitional housing settings. These facilities provide specialized beds and physical and program characteristics specifically meant to address individuals’ unique needs, including smaller physical settings, as well as on-site services and compassionate staff who work closely with these New Yorkers to build trust, stabilize lives, and encourage further transition off the streets and ultimately into permanent housing.