Women in Need: Housing chronically homeless women in New York City

Women in Need helps victims of domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse, and incarceration by providing housing, child care, education, and health and wellness services. 

The Problem

New York City spends over 1.2 billion dollars a year on reducing homelessness, and yet the problem only continues to worsen. Drug dependency and the opioid crisis are certainly contributing factors to the problem, but the bigger issues - especially in New York City- are the ever-increasing rents and stagnant wages. 70% of the homeless population demographic in New York City is comprised of mothers and children.

The Solution

Women in Need (WIN) has been providing safe housing, services, programming to help homeless women and their children rebuild their lives for over thirty three years. In 1983, WIN started as a shelter for four homeless women and their families. Since then, the program has scaled. Today, it serves close to 10,000 homeless women (and their families) and it assists more than 800 families in transitioning out of shelters and into homes of their own. WIN has started a number of innovative and groundbreaking programs including the WIN Academy, Income Building Program, Children's After-school, and Mentorship and Recreation.

Stage of Development

  • Early Stage
  • Established Prototype
  • Scaling
  • Other

Organization to Receive Funds

WIN (Women in Need)

Find Out More

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