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How formerly homeless New Yorkers are helping others get off the streets
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 31, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
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Samantha Max / Gothamist
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 31, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
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Outreach worker Felipe Ramos said one of the hardest parts of his job is seeing himself in those he helps: the people sleeping on New York City's streets.
Ramos has also cycled through homelessness, incarceration and a history of mental illness. But he said his past is now his superpower as he crisscrosses Manhattan every day, trying to get New Yorkers to come inside.
“We can say to our clients, ‘Hey, I know exactly what you're feeling. … I'm actually going to feel it with you in this moment, and then when you're ready, we're going to come up with a detailed plan to get you out of this feeling,’” he said.
“It's probably the most genuine form of connection that we can build.”
Ramos is part of the Neighborhood Navigators program, started by the Manhattan district attorney’s office to bring street homeless New Yorkers inside and prevent them from entering the criminal justice system. The Mamdani administration this year awarded the program $1.25 million in funding as it develops a citywide plan to combat homelessness.
It’s part of a growing citywide effort to interrupt the cycle of New Yorkers moving between the street, the hospital and the shelter system. Nearly 5,000 people slept in parks, subway stations or the street this year — the highest number recorded in more than a decade.
“It’s far more powerful to get people who have walked in these shoes,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg told Gothamist. “And recognize the significance of what that individual engagement means to them because they know what it meant to them.”
The city’s street outreach system can be uncoordinated, leaving groups working in silos or overwhelming the very people they’re trying to help, advocates said. It’s why elected leaders and other stakeholders are calling on the city to streamline its approach and double down on programs that show results.
Bragg said the Neighborhood Navigators approach is different because it hires workers with similar experiences to form closer relationships with chronically homeless people and because of the amount of time workers spend with those they help, including accompanying them to appointments or doctor’s offices.
“Instead of, ‘What's wrong with you?’ We ask, ‘What happened to you?’” said Rocio Santos, program director of the Neighborhood Navigators.
“Looking them in their face, taking the time to [say], ‘Hey, how are you? We noticed you don't have shoes. Is there anything that we can support you with?’”
Bragg said his office decided to start its own street outreach program after realizing people were falling through the cracks between various providers and city agencies. He said he ultimately wants to prevent people from ever landing in court.
The DA’s office hired nonprofit The Bridge to implement the program in certain neighborhoods in 2024, using forfeiture funds. More than 175 people have been placed in housing since.
“Sometimes the navigators will be with someone for an entire day, just making sure that they get into their housing placement or to an inpatient substance use treatment program,” said Lauren Curatolo, a deputy division chief at the Manhattan DA's office.
The program works in certain areas of the city including Central and East Harlem; Chinatown and the Lower East Side; Washington Heights and Inwood; and Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea.
Barbara Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance, said the Neighborhood Navigators “do a good job of following people” from point A to point B. She said the business improvement district also hired the navigators to perform outreach in the area.
“I don't want you dumping someone off at the hospital and then you don't hear from them again, you don't see them again until they're back on the street,” Blair said.
In one case, the Neighborhood Navigators helped a 58-year-old Harlem man get his public benefits reinstated, staying with him at the city’s benefits office all day. In another case, they were able to connect a 67-year-old living in Lower Manhattan to a supportive housing unit in less than three weeks. The man also received a psychiatric evaluation and medication to remain stable.
Ramos said the Neighborhood Navigators have a good reputation among people living on the street and that helps them make inroads. So if they say they’ll pick someone up from the hospital at 6 a.m., they’ll be there at 6 a.m.
“Recovery isn't comfortable, but it's attainable. So being willing to listen to them and being able to hold their hand through the hard parts is what'll continue to make things systematically better,” he said.
The group does not have access to the city’s database of engagements between outreach workers and homeless people. Only providers contracted by the Department of Homeless Services do, and that can make collaboration with other groups difficult.
But the Navigators said they create networks in each neighborhood. They know whom they can lean on for substance abuse programs, shelter, medical care or mental health.
“ We brought the personal back into this type of work,” said Santos. “We're able to pick up the phone at any given point and reach those individuals that could support and help our clients.”
Tagged
homelessness
manhattan
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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