The Consortium envisions a world where all people live healthy, fulfilling lives and experience safety and holistic wellbeing in the housing and communities of their choice, with the support they need to thrive.

We recognize health and housing as fundamental human rights and core racial justice issues.

We design service delivery around the experience and dignity of the individual.

We create an environment of honesty about systemic racism in our sectors and take responsibility for preventing further harm.

We prioritize the respect, support, and fair compensation of health and human service workers.

Our Story

The Health & Housing Consortium got its start in the Bronx in 2011, as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) brought healthcare reform to the U.S. The new law expanded and redesigned Medicaid and created New York City’s first Health Homes. Yet there was little funding or guidance on how to implement these significant changes. And doing so required building new networks across healthcare, housing, and homeless services that didn’t previously exist.

The Bronx Health & Housing Consortium initially formed as a way to bridge these gaps. Founding members from different sectors came together to collaborate, share learnings, and create consistency across systems. Despite their different backgrounds, they discovered similar and interrelated challenges in their work: As people with both health and housing needs cycled through hospitals, shelters, and the street, the Bronx’s healthcare, homeless services, and housing systems lacked the coordination and resources to deliver high quality and efficient care. 

The Consortium became the meeting point where these sectors could come together to improve outcomes for all. As their expertise and network grew, the Consortium’s work expanded to include best-in-class workforce trainings, cross-sector networking events, a leading membership program, and advocacy for systems-level reform. 

On the heels of their success in the Bronx, the Consortium decided to replicate their model in Brooklyn. In 2018, they partnered with NYU Langone Health to create the Brooklyn Health & Housing Consortium. However, it quickly became apparent that many of the issues they were addressing in the Bronx and Brooklyn were systemic and common across boroughs. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Consortium decided to combine their efforts and make a bold transition to a virtual environment so they could reach people across all boroughs of New York City. The work of the Brooklyn Consortium has since been incorporated into the Health & Housing Consortium, which continues to be supported by NYU Langone Health’s Community Service Plan.

What started out as a grassroots convening in the Bronx has since grown into a city-wide organization that reaches over 4,000 people from 300 organizations across healthcare, housing, and homeless services each year.