All over New York City, there are programs designed to help our neighbors, offering food, mental health counseling, warm clothes, showers, and more. NCS staff members realized that not everyone who could benefit from these services knew where to find them. We wanted to change that and decided to start in our own backyard.
TiAsia spends her days honing her design craft and making plans for a career in the fashion industry. But connecting with this passion wasn’t always easy.
Monique Phillips knows her way around Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter.
Tenants at the NCS Residence often call Helen the mother of the building because of the care she shows her neighbors. Helen frequently checks in on others, takes a leading role at the monthly tenant meetings, and tries to make sure everyone feels special.
Before she started working for NCS three years ago, Na'eema Nadir performed outreach in NYC's subways, connecting people experiencing homelessness with meals, shelter, and other services as needed. That experience was helpful in her first role at NCS, providing information and referrals for guests at Upper East Side meal programs through our Community Human Services Information Referral Program (CHIRP).
Three years ago, BC lived in a homeless shelter and struggled with substance abuse. She’d had a challenging path to recovery until she started attending meetings at Chance for Chance, NCS’s outpatient substance use treatment program.
When Jan Golann learned about how her parish, St. James’ Church, was instrumental in founding NCS, she wanted to learn more about our work and get involved herself. She began volunteering at NCS events as well as making contributions. Now, more than ten years later, Jan is Secretary of the NCS Board of Directors and has become an integral part of our community. She loves to share NCS’s work with others, including her good friend and fellow St. James’ parishioner, Faith Fraser.
Chance for Change (CFC), NCS’s out-patient substance-use treatment program, is uniquely designed to serve homeless individuals battling addiction, often combined with mental illness. Over the years, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s Women’s Mental Health Shelter (WMHS), located at the Park Avenue Armory, has been an essential partner in giving our clients the services they need.
Muray, an NCS client, has dreamed of becoming a professional fashion designer for a long time. When NCS’s vocational staff connected her with the Bombas Mentorship Program, she got “feet-on” industry experience like she never had before.
Teila’s childhood was not easy. From a young age, she suffered from abandonment and abuse. She stayed with various family members but by the time she was 15, she was on her own and living in youth shelters, trying not to give up hope. But her life began to turn around when she moved into Louis Nine House at age 22.
For 40 years, NCS’s staff has worked hard to ensure our clients are safe and healthy. We provide our residents with a home, healthy meals, and substance use disorder counseling— and case management to make sure residents take care of their mental and physical health. For one resident, in particular, this work had an especially big impact.
St. James’ Church was instrumental in NCS’s founding and has remained a dedicated partner for four decades. When Rev. Brenda Husson became the Rector there 25 years ago, she inherited the close relationship NCS and St. James’ share.
Susan Shevell is a dedicated NCS volunteer, spending most Saturday afternoons with us. After raising her children in Livingston, NJ, and retiring from her family’s business, she moved to the Upper East Side in 2016. With more time on her hands and a new community, she wanted to find meaningful volunteer work— and we’re so happy she chose NCS!
“Volunteering at Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
"I could tell right away that I wanted to be connected to NCS. I loved that you not only provided housing, a foundational need, but also empowered each client and provided them with opportunities to succeed.”
The Chalfants were introduced to NCS almost 10 years ago by their friends and long-time NCS supporters, Hugh Fremantle and Susan Stevens who thought correctly that Kathleen and Henry would be moved by NCS’s work. They began making annual contributions and soon committed to monthly donations to support NCS’s clients. But when the pandemic started, they wanted to do more... and we had the perfect role for them!
“Brick Church is my favorite place to hang out,” NCS resident Ronald shared. “Being around the young kids is inspiring because they are really genuine and sincere about what they’re doing— it is uplifting just to be around the young people, it enlivens me.”
At NCS, we think of ourselves as a family helping our neighbors. For two of our board members, they really are family!
“NCS gave me a chance and enabled me to live independently for the first time in a long time,” shared Donna. “I used to live in a shelter, and I know that my life wouldn’t be improving the way it is if I hadn’t received much needed support from Stephanie at Chance for Change and moved into the NCS Residence. I wouldn’t be where I am now. They helped me to become employable and helped me to gain the confidence I need to move forward in my life. My next goal is to move into my own apartment in Queens to be closer to my son and grandkids and make space at the NCS Residence for someone else who needs it. I am very blessed that life brought me here”
“The initial vision for NCS was as a community service organization that would respond to the various needs of the neighborhood,” Anne Davidson, the first Board President, remembered. “It’s different today than we first envisioned. We started with each church and synagogue offering their own meal programs, but it was clear that people needed more than that. We evolved quickly when we realized the next step would be to buy a building and provide housing.”