The coalition has engaged in landmark litigation to protect the rights of homeless people, including the right to shelter and the right to vote, and also advocates for long-term solutions to the problem of homelessness.
The Coalition provides food, clothing, eviction prevention, crisis services, permanent housing, job training and special programs for youth to more than 3,500 homeless men, women, and children daily in New York.
In 1979, in the case Callahan v. Carey, attorney and founder of the Coalition Robert Hayes, achieved a landmark precedent in New York City, establishing that all homeless individuals have the right to emergency shelter.
[1][2] In Pitts v. Black, a 1984 lawsuit, the Coalition successfully argued that homeless people in New York should be permitted to register to vote even if they reside in shelters or on the streets.
[3] The Coalition for the Homeless has a number of programs that assist more than 3,500 homeless and at-risk New Yorkers each day.