Support, Safety and Success

Care for the Homeless opened Susan’s Place, a 180-bed (now a 200-bed) transitional residence with an onsite medical and dental clinic on August 6, 2008. Susan’s Place is dedicated to serving medically frail and mentally ill homeless women, providing them with healthy meals, clean clothing, recreational activities and a broad range of primary health care and social services. Susan’s Place gives these women a safe and supportive environment and the services that will help keep them re-housed after we place them in permanent housing.

To respond to the record-high number of homeless women seeking shelter, Susan’s Place underwent a renovation to create a new dorm to accommodate an additional 20 women. This new dorm is designated for medically frail and elderly homeless women. To ensure that these clients receive the special care they require, CFH created and filled a new position of Medical Case Manager, that is dedicated to ensuring that the medical needs of the clients are adequately considered and addressed in their search for permanent housing in the community.

Despite the economic challenges of the current recession, Care for the Homeless is committed to helping the increasing number of homeless individuals who desperately need our health care and shelter services.

Susan’s Place emphasizes appropriate housing placement and transition to needed program services that allow maximum self-sufficiency for all Susan’s Place clients.

Susan’s Place residence has a dedicated staff that includes social workers, case managers, housing specialists, aftercare specialists, substance abuse counselors, and a recreational therapist. Our licensed medical and dental clinic has a primary care provider, social worker, psychiatrists, registered nurse, medical assistant, part-time dentist and part-time podiatrist.

Susan’s Place clients have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities including in-house education groups, recreational activities and support groups (Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous). The residence hosts a library and a computer lab that is used for educational pursuit as well as recreation and communications with others.

Staff and clients gathered on February 16th, 2010 to celebrate the opening of Classic Re-Runs, a non-cash boutique of donated clothes and accessories at Susan’s Place. Classic Re-Runs provides clients with winter coats for harsh weather and professional attire for job interviews. Clients earn vouchers for clothing items from their caseworkers as incentives for using the services available to them, such as pap smears and dental exams. Plans for Classic Re-Runs include giving clients retail-type experience that will help them in their job searches. Within minutes of opening, 4 clients were the happy recipients of winter coats and another received an outfit to wear to her new job.

Susan’s Place is an active member of the vibrant Jerome Avenue community. Our first Open House in 2008 was attended by over 200 local community and business leaders, friends and other supporters.

If you need more information please contact:

Natalie Davis Richardson, BA, MSC, PA, CS, PhD Candidate, in Human services
Director of Susan's Place
Susan L. Neibacher Care for the Homeless Women's Center

nrichardson@cfhnyc.org