New York's Right to Shelter

Preserving the fundamental right

A single man looks directly at camera on a New York street.
A photo of an adult with black and blond hair and a black jacket leaning over the shoulder of a smiling child wearing a green jacket with patches and a black hood.

State of the Homeless 2023

Compounding Crisis, Failed Responses

Every New Yorker Deserves a Home.

We can not only reduce, but eliminate, homelessness in New York City.

I need help finding shelter or meeting other critical needs.

Crisis Intervention Hotline:

1-888-358-2384

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Callahan Under Attack

For over 42 years the Coalition for the Homeless, with our partners at The Legal Aid Society, has zealously defended and successfully expanded the legal Right to Shelter for anyone experiencing homelessness in New York.

The Latest

Updates from the Coalition for the Homeless. To see our recent statements, visit our Press Room.

A man drags a trash bag of belongings alone the street outside of the Roosevelt Hotel

The Callahan deal is not a victory

Last May, Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul initiated an attack on New York’s legal right to shelter for single adults based upon two faulty premises: first, that the city needed more flexibility in responding to the influx of thousands of…

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A single man looks directly at camera on a New York street.

After months of a Court-supervised mediation, the Coalition for the Homeless and the City reached a settlement that stops Mayor Adams’ and Governor Hochul’s nearly year-long efforts to dismantle New York’s long-standing Right to Shelter for single adults, established under Callahan v. Carey…

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Callahan Settlement Preserves the Right to Shelter While Implementing Temporary Measures During the Humanitarian Crisis

A still of a news broadcast from Spectrum New Ny1. A man sits on screen and text below reads "city reaches settlement over right-to-shelter case"

Josh Goldfein, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice, joined “Inside City Hall” to talk about the Right to Shelter law.

On Friday, the city announced a settlement with the Legal Aid Society over the Right to Shelter law. The agreement allows the city to limit shelter stays for some adult migrants for 30 days. Most migrants will not have a chance to reapply.

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Attorney talks about new settlement for right-to-shelter law

A group of people including kids wait outside The Roosevelt Hotel with luggage. Some stand under an umbrella. It is Twilight.

The city has negotiated a deal that will limit single migrants to 30-day shelter stays. Officials hope it will ease the crunch without increasing street homelessness.

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Shelters Are Overloaded. Will a New Agreement Help?

A group of people holding up signs at a protest. The signs read "save the right to shelter" and "right to shelter saves lives".

The Coalition for the Homeless reached a settlement with the City of New York Friday, adding new emergency terms to the 1981 decree that paved the way for the city’s unique right to a shelter bed.

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NYC Narrows Re-Sheltering Rights for Recently-Arrived Immigrants

A still of a news broadcast from ANC7 NY. The presenter is talking and behind is a graphic that reads Right to Shelter.

NEW YORK (WABC) — The legal agreement between New York City and homeless advocates scales back the decades-old ‘Right to Shelter’ law as the city tries to find housing for thousands of migrant adults.

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Settlement reached over 'Right to Shelter' law in New York City

Coalition for the Homeless logo in navy blue on a white background

(NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless, following a court-supervised mediation led by New York State Supreme Court Judge Gerald Lebovits, announced a settlement with the City to end the government’s legal challenge to New York’s long-standing Right to Shelter for single adults, established under Callahan v. Carey in 1981.

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Legal Aid, Coalition for the Homeless announce settlement in Callahan v. Carey, preserving NYC’s Right to Shelter settlement protects the right to shelter for anyone in need.

Coalition for the Homeless logo in navy blue on a white background

The Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid Society testified before the New York City Council’s Committee on General Welfare. As the independent monitor of the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelter system and counsel in cases that established the right to shelter in NYC, we offered insights into the impact of proposed funding for the shelter system and programs aiding unhoused New Yorkers…

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The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, and other future fiscal reports: the Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid Society submit testimony

An image of a man sitting on a chair in front of a single bed, shoes alined down below it.

Lazaro Sanchez was living on the A train when an outreach worker in an orange jacket offered him a chance. After a slow, steady slide into homelessness, Sanchez had spent around five years sleeping on the subway…

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NYC subway safety plan targeting the homeless shows hints of promise but significant problems

A black and white image of a woman (Shirley Chisholm) speaking into a microphone.

March is Women’s History Month, a celebration dedicated to commemorating and uplifting the contributions of women throughout our Nation’s history. Few have left such an enduring legacy on New York City as Shirley Chisholm…

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Unbossed and Unbought: Shirley Chisholm and her enduring influence in New York City

The Coalition for the Homeless and The Legal Aid Society submitted testimony to the New York City Council’s Committee on General Welfare in response to findings by the Department of Investigation regarding manipulation of monthly eligibility rate data by DSS and Intros. 210-2024 and 349-2024.

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The Oversight Hearing on DSS manipulation of monthly eligibility rate reporting and intros: the Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid Society submit testimony

Coalition for the Homeless logo in navy blue on a white background

Last week, a damning piece in The New York Times exposed the inexplicably poor results of Governor Hochul’s Migrant Resettlement Assistance Program (MRAP) which, after eight months, has managed to resettle only a tiny fraction of the families it was supposed to resettle throughout the state…

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Why a $25 Million Plan to Relocate N.Y.C. Migrant Families is Struggling

A group of lowrise buildings on a sunny day.

The city’s housing vacancy rate plunged to 1.41 percent in 2023, the lowest it has been since 1968, officials announced Thursday. Options were particularly scarce for low-income New Yorkers: just 0.39 percent of units renting for under $1,100 were available last year.

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‘Profound Scarcity’: Apartments Available to NYC Renters Hit Historic Low Last Year

A black and white portrait of a man called Philip Payton.

This year, the Coalition for the Homeless remembers Philip A. Payton Jr., a real estate entrepreneur, who was committed to breaking down racial barriers in the New York housing sector.

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Remembering Philip A. Payton Jr. – the “Father of Harlem” and his lasting legacy in New York City

A still of a news broadcast from Spectrum News NY1 of a woman in a pink hijab talking to camera.

It’s a tough pill for Adama Bah to swallow. She’s meeting a family from Senegal that is about to be evicted from their shelter. They’ve hit the city’s 60-day limit…

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Adama Bah: Showing compassion for immigrants

Coalition for the Homeless logo in navy blue on a white background

On January 31, 2024, Columbia University Professor and Coalition co-founder Kim Hopper PhD delivered a keynote speech at the January 31, 2024 UPSTREAM: Frontline Solutions to Homelessness symposium. These are his remarks.

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“A muddle that works…” Remarks About the Legacy of Callahan

Behind Acts of Violence, Years of Mistakes” (front page, Nov. 21) effectively underscores the decades of neglect, underfunding and mismanagement that have made New York’s mental health system such a resounding failure for so many people in our city…

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Helping Homeless People Who Are Mentally Ill