Join the Health & Housing Consortium at our next Advocacy Spotlight Session on Thursday, March 6th from 1-2pm focused on Correct Crisis Intervention Today - New York City (CCIT-NYC).

At this session, leaders with CCIT-NYC will provide an overview of their proposals to transform how New York City responds to mental health crisis calls currently being handled by New York Police Department. Advocates will describe an alternative coordinated crisis response system that is led by peers, includes prevention and alternatives to hospitals, and offers robust follow-up with local providers. You will also learn about opportunities for you and your organizations to get involved with CCIT-NYC!

Speakers include:

• Evelyn Graham-Nyaasi, Independent Peer Advocate

• Jim Bohovich, Independent Peer Advocate

• Jim Mutton, Concern Housing

This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of Hoarding Disorder as a complex mental health condition in which the compulsive acquiring and attachment to possessions is often more important to the hoarding individual than human relationships.

Training information will include:

• The Distinctions between clutter, chronic disorganization and hoarding.

• The DSM-V criteria for a diagnosis of hoarding disorder; what and why people hoard

• Distress caused by compulsive hoarding.

• Neurological aspects impacting the making decisions, memory retention and ‘value’ of items.

• The development of harm reduction plans of care and legal /professional advocacy for “reasonable accommodations in the threat of eviction will be touched upon, to help participants gain awareness of how to help the individual bring their living space back in to safe, healthy, and functional compliance.

Hoarding assessment tools will be reviewed along with identification of the collaborative professions and municipal departments that are frequently involved in either health/safety code violations.

This virtual training from DOHMH will teach you how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose using naloxone and provide information on how to access free naloxone.

Looking to help place your clients in supportive housing? Join the Consortium for a Housing Marketplace on February 4th! The Housing Marketplace is a valuable opportunity for cross-sector collaboration, bringing together housing providers, hospitals, shelter providers, and other stakeholders to expedite the housing referral process. These events allow participants to learn not only about housing vacancies, but also about the broader range of services available within each housing program.

Housing providers will take turns presenting on their available housing vacancies that can accept direct referrals, along with details on eligibility criteria, referral processes, and more. This collaborative environment fosters connections between sectors, encouraging dialogue and knowledge sharing.

Participating housing providers include: Concern Housing, The Bridge, Geel Community Services, and Project Hospitality.

Participants will have the chance to engage directly with housing providers to ask questions and explore solutions that address the diverse needs of their clients. Attendees will also receive a comprehensive resource packet with the information shared during the event.

Thank you to our sponsor!

Lamb Insurance Services

Join Advocates from the Freedom Agenda to learn about the Movement to Close Rikers Island jail complex. This campaign seeks to reduce the number of people incarcerated in New York City, defend the rights of incarcerated people, and redirect the NYC Department of Correction’s resources to needs such as housing, healthcare, education, and employment.

At this Advocacy Spotlight, Sarita Daftary, Co-Director for Policy and the Freedom Agenda, will describe details of the legislation, why Advocates with Lived Experience are prioritizing it, successes of the campaign so far, and plans for the upcoming legislative session. You will also learn about opportunities for you and your organizations to get involved with Close Rikers!

The New York City Commission on Human Rights is charged with enforcing and providing public education on the Human Rights Law.

This workshop provides information about protected classes in housing, emphasizing protections against discrimination based on lawful source of income and disabilities. It also covers unlawful, discriminatory lending practices and how the human rights law can protect against tenant harassment.

Lehman College, a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), is excited to invite you to a partnership meeting to discuss internship and job opportunities for their students at your program sites. Many of Lehman's students are interested in career opportunities as case managers, youth workers, outreach workers, program assistants, patient coordinators, managed care specialists, and more. 

During this meeting, representatives from Lehman College's Health Equity Department, Administration Department, and Technology Department will provide an overview of their departments and the exciting internship and job placement opportunities. They will also discuss potential partnership opportunities to develop a pipeline for your future workforce.

Benefits of Partnership:

• Access to a diverse and talented pool of students from the Bronx and surrounding areas.

• Opportunity to shape the future workforce by providing valuable internship and job experiences.

• Collaboration with Lehman College faculty and staff to develop curriculum and programs that align with industry needs.

Together we can help address the staffing challenges facing the health and human services sector by connecting directly with the emerging workforce!

*Exclusive event for staff of Consortium member organizations! Not sure if you're a member? Check here.* To register, you will need to be logged into your account. If you have not made an account yet, please do so here.

Medicare Advantage annual open enrollment period for 2025 will be from January1 to March 31. This training will provide you with the information and tools needed to assist you patients/clients in either enrolling in Medicare or adjusting their plan coverage. Updates will be provided on the Inflation Reduction for 2025. The presentation will include the following:

• Brief overview of Medicare: Part A & B

• What is Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment

• What can you do during MAOEP

• What to consider when changing plans

• Medicare Plan Finder

• $2,000 drug cap for 2025

• Medicare Savings Programs

• Extra Help

• Vaccines

Please join Health Justice Advocate Lateefah Torrence from the Mental Health Project (MHP) at the Urban Justice Center for an introduction to New York State Medicaid and Health and Recovery Programs (HARP). The goal of the presentation is to shed light on the dense tangle of systems referred to as “Medicaid” by:

• Providing participants with an overview of Medicaid basics, eligibility, and application processes.

• Highlighting proposed changes to New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP).

• Reviewing HARP eligibility and supports, including CORE services.

• Sharing reliable resources for assistance and answers to questions.

The presentation will include time for questions and answers.

*Exclusive training for staff of Consortium member organizations! Not sure if you're a member? Check here.* To register, you will need to be logged into your account. If you have not made an account yet, please do so here.

Join us for an exclusive gathering for members of The Health & Housing Consortium! We'll enjoy light snacks and a happy hour, networking, and a chance to reflect on the progress made in 2024 and look ahead to shaping our priorities for 2025.

This event will offer a brief review of our key accomplishments over the past year, followed by an interactive discussion to gather your feedback on where we should focus our efforts in the coming year. We'll also hear briefly about the Homeless Protection Act, led by Urban Pathways.

We'll end with light refreshments while networking and connecting with fellow members. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with the Consortium and fellow colleagues!

Medicare is a federal health insurance program that provides coverage for many health care services and supplies. The training will cover the following topics about Medicare:

• Eligibility and enrollment

• Parts of Medicare

• Coverage

• Cost

• Medicare Advantage Plans-How to choose and enroll

• Medicare Prescription Plans-How to choose and enroll

Medicare's annual open enrollment period for 2025 will be from October 15 to December 7. This training will provide you with the information and tools needed to assist you patients/clients in either enrolling in Medicare or adjusting their plan coverage. Updates will be provided on the Inflation Reduction for 2025. The presentation will include the following:

• Brief overview of Medicare: Part A & B

• What is Open Enrollment

• What can you do during OEP

• Review of Notices

• What to consider when changing plans

• Medicare Plan Finder

• $2,000 drug cap for 2025

• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

• Extra Help

• Vaccines

Please join the Legal Wellness Institute at The Family Center for a review of common problems Section 8 recipients experience related to their vouchers and housing. Issues covered will include:

• Housing conditions and Housing Quality Inspections

• Terminations

• Succession and

• Section 8's role in eviction proceedings

Please join attorneys from The Family Center for an introduction to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. This training will present information foundational to understanding Section 8 housing, including:

• History and Adminstration of the Program

• Project Based vs. Portable Vouchers

• Qualifying for and Getting Section 8

• Moving with Section 8

Join Advocates from Urban Pathways and Care For the Homeless to learn about the Pass the Homeless Protection Act campaign. The Homeless Protection Act (HPA) is a statewide piece of legislation, sponsored by Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal and Senator Luis Sepúlveda, that would expand New York hate crime laws to include homelessness as a protected class. At this Advocacy Spotlight, you will learn about the details of the legislation, why Advocates with Lived Experience are prioritizing it, successes of the campaign so far, and plans for the upcoming legislative session. You will also learn about opportunities to get involved to help Pass the HPA!

This training will cover Emergency Assistance that is paid by NYC HRA to meet an urgent need of low-income New Yorkers. The assistance is most often paid to landlords as “A One Shot Deal” to prevent evictions and also to utility companies to avoid a shut off of the lights or gas for low-income New Yorkers.  We will cover who is eligible for the emergency assistance, how to apply for the assistance and what part of the amount is a grant and what part is a loan. 

The Health & Housing Consortium, Homeless Services United, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Supportive Housing Network of New York, and Association for Community Living have joined forces to support our New York City member organizations in better understanding the NYS 1115 Medicaid Waiver, called the New York Health Equity Reform (NYHER). Please join us for this 101 session to learn about the basics of NYHER, get important updates, and ask questions. 

About the Trainer:

Marcella Maguire, Ph.D. is Director of Health Systems Integration for CSH. Her work nationally focuses on the intersection of the housing and healthcare sectors in the financing, policy and implementation of systems and programs. She is or has been engaged with multiple states such as CA, DC, IN, MN, NC and WA around how to use Medicaid and health policy levers to build equity in communities and address community needs. Prior to joining CSH, Marcella worked for 17 years for the City of Philadelphia leading efforts to integrate behavioral health, managed care and affordable and supportive housing systems.

The Legal Aid Society's Homeless Rights Project will lead this training about the rights of homeless families and individuals in New York City. You will leave the training with an understanding of:

• Reasonable Accommodations in Shelter if You Have a Disability

• Applying for Shelter at PATH

• Requesting Language Access Services

• Verifying Housing History with the Department of Homeless Services (DHS)

• And more!

This training will focus on the rent subsidy program City Fighting Homelessness Eviction Prevention Subsidy (City FHEPS) as it is used in the community to prevent households from entering the shelter system.  We will cover which households are eligible for CityFHEPS to stay in the community and which households are eligible for CityFHEPS to move in the community, who processes the applications to stay and move and discuss how the City determines rent shares and number of bedrooms a household may have as well as the importance of filing CityFHEPS renewals every year to keep the subsidy from lapsing.

Problem Gambling refers to persistent and recurrent gambling behavior that leads to clinically significant impairment or distress. The New York Council on Problem Gambling's training will help attendees build a strong foundation of baseline knowledge of how to recognize problem gambling and its warning signs. We will also cover specific at-risk populations highlighted by recent survey data, comorbidities with other addictive behavior, and suicidality.

CEU AVAILABLE: The PG 101 is also eligible for 1 hour of Social Work Credit and CEU from OASAS. Attendees will be asked to complete both Pre & Post Test Surveys which will include sections for presentation feedback, contact information, and which certificates they would like to receive.

*Exclusive training for staff of Consortium member organizations! Not sure if you're a member? Check here.* To register, you will need to be logged into your account. If you have not made an account yet, please do so here.

The Legal Aid Society will provide participants with major and minor rules for understanding the FHEPS subsidy program. The FHEPS team will discuss FHEPS eligibility, modification, and maintenance of the subsidy for tenants.

The training will conclude with a questions and answers session with the FHEPS team.

Please join us for the launch of the Health & Housing Consortium Advocacy Spotlight Series!

On Monday, July 15th from 1:00pm-2:00pm, you are invited to learn about and get involved with the Community Land Act (CLA) Campaign.

At this informational session, participants will learn about community land trusts (CLTs) as a tool to help develop and preserve affordable housing and community spaces. Led by Will Spisak at the New Economy Project, the session will cover the CLA Campaign package that would give CLTs and nonprofits and tenants purchasing power of disposed City-owned land and landlord-owned buildings on the market. Participants will learn how the CLA Campaign addresses root causes of New York City’s affordability crisis, combat displacement of low-income New Yorkers, and build collective wealth in marginalized communities.

At this interagency case conference, professionals across healthcare, homeless services, government, and community-based organizations will have the opportunity to present and discuss complex client/patient cases. Participants will ask each other questions, collaboratively troubleshoot issues, share resources, and network with others.

This case conference will focus specifically on benefits for non-citizens. Prior to the event, we highly encourage participants to review resources from our two-part training series on Non-Citizen Immigrant Eligibility and Benefits held on June 10 and June 12. These resources can be found at our Training & Event Resources page in the Health & Housing Consortium Member Portal.

Our meeting will be co-facilitated by Helen Hernandez, LCSW, adjunct lecturer at CUNY Staten Island and Casey Burke LMSW, Director at Bridging Access to Care.

 *Exclusive event for staff of Consortium member organizations! Not sure if you're a member? Check here.*