Welcome to our interactive 2023 Impact Report. For a PDF version of the report, view HERE or download HERE. For video highlights, scroll to the bottom of this page or view on our homepage. If you would like to receive a hard copy, please email Contact@HFHnyc.org to request a copy while supplies last.

An expecting mom. A single father with a toddler. Two parents and two kids. A grandparent with a teenager. These are the diverse faces of the families who walk through the doors of our HFH family residences. Creating individualized service plans to help each of them move from where they are when they first join us to where they want to be when they leave is at the heart of what we do.

Maintaining health and safety for residents and staff was our main focus at the height of the pandemic. Shelter activity was limited by social distancing. Families remained in their units while staff connected with families by phone. The critical face-to-face time where trusted relationships are nurtured between client and case worker suffered. Family services operations knew that post-COVID they needed to re-engage clients to overcome barriers to in-person interactions that had developed. Through conversations with administrators, family service team members, clients, and the help of HFH’s in-house policy unit, we addressed the issue, creating new guidance and training for staff and concentrating on engaging clients in becoming active participants in their own outcomes.

Starting in 2021, the agency increased our focus on face-to-face client engagement, and by 2023 we had a 98% increase in case management services. This engagement resulted in more move outs, more clients seeking community-based services, higher employment rates, and enrollment for children’s activities increased.

This cross-divisional collaboration ultimately made the biggest difference in the lives of the children, and their families.

Top Three Reasons for homelessness
Discord, Overcrowding, and Domestic Violence

According to a recent report by the Economic Roundtable, “The Work Behind Work,” the most common reason people experiencing homelessness give for losing their housing is unemployment or lack of income. HFH focuses on employability through Allie’s Place Center for Culinary Education & Employment, which provides free, hands-on job training for adults from any HFH Family Residence, as well as members of the local community. Whether you are currently experiencing homelessness, unemployed, under-employed, or want to gain skills to climb farther up the culinary career ladder, the Center is a crucial resource. In 2023, 132 people graduated from the program with 40% employed since completion of the program. The Center also added a Pastry Arts training track and began developing a Hospitality program to give graduates exposure to “front-of-the-house” skills like beverage service, hosting, and more.

At Saratoga Family Residence, Family Works trains enrolled adult members on-site for jobs in safety (security) and housekeeping and maintenance. According to Saratoga Administrator Mike Fahy, “It is a good program to get clients ready for jobs, for those who have no work experience. They get on their feet, have success with a job, have a reference and something substantive on their resume.” He sees this as a critical way to assist certain residents in their plan to exit shelter. Twenty-six participants graduated the program in 2023 with 46% employed or in the process of obtaining a job and 76% who moved out of the shelter.

Every HFH family residence runs programs for children. Some have on-site Early Childhood Education Centers, where children from the site and the community learn together in NYC DOE 3-k and pre-k classes. Other sites operate on-site daycare or afterschool programs available for youngsters while their parents are working or attending important appointments. Highlights in 2023 included field trips, partnerships, and artist-in-residence programs featuring collaborations from teaching artists in the fields of creative writing, music, dance and movement, and a host of other genres. These activities expose children to art, culture, and physical activities outside the classroom—and shelter. They visited the Museum of Natural History and the Ice Cream Museum, participated in an interactive workshop on making videos at a professional studio, and literally jumped at the chance to get active at Sky Zone. Animals—like a chinchilla from Peru and a bearded dragon—made visits to their classrooms along with soccer, stepping, and science series.

Nearly 100 children, some attending more than one session, were once again transported to the world of Camp Wakonda for HFH Summer Camps 2023, our second season open after being closed during the pandemic. Days were filled rotating through activities—from playing sports to learning about the solar system at the exploration station. Kids took a field trip to the Twin Lakes Regional Nature Museum, and embarked on nature hikes where they reflected on the sights and sounds of nature, including frogs and toads to all types of bugs and critters. The campsite is outfitted with an arts space including a raised stage, perfect for drama, music, and choreographed dances that the kids practice for their much-anticipated camper and counselor talent night.

The lake and water activities steal the show with some campers brushing up on their swimming skills while others swam their first strokes guided by skilled instructors. Campers also added canoeing to their repertoire, filled up on healthy foods and the occasional sweet treats, learned arts and crafts techniques, and viewed the stars amid the night sky free of city lights and tall buildings. Of course, there were campfires and lots of s’mores. There’s plenty of time for summer reading and journaling, especially before bed, as well as pajama parties in the cabins campers share with their new friends and counselors. Time and again when asked about the best part of camp, spending time with friends tops the list.

Counselors hail from all over the world—ranging from Poland and Hungary to New Zealand and Colombia—giving kids a glimpse into other languages and cultures. Children also delighted in an old-fashioned camp tradition, Camp Carnival. At the end of each session, campers are able to relive these memories with yearbook-style memory books that recap their experiences. Photos capture day one’s excitement and apprehension on the bus ride to camp to day sevens’s reluctant good-byes to their new friends and beloved counselors.

Leonard N. Stern
Founder & Chair Emeritus

David Webb
Chair

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Harris Barer
Helaine Barnett
Paige Bartels
Steven Cohen
Richard Finkelstein
Shelly Friedman
Susanne C. Hurowitz

Peter K. Jenik
Michael Kalmus
Luke Nasta
Ralph da Costa
Nunez, PhD
Andrea Stern
Dane Wesley

We are grateful to all those who make supplementary services and activities possible through volunteering, grants, and in-kind and monetary donations each year. Thank you to our HFH Board of Directors for their leadership and sound stewardship of financial resources ensuring that we can provide continuity of operations, programming, and services to New York City families. To donate overall or to a specific program, please email GetInvolved@HFHnyc.org.