Opened in August of 2023, the West 83rd Street Safe Haven provides transitional housing for vulnerable street homeless individuals. At any given time, West 83rd provides immediate and safe accommodations for 80 street homeless individuals on the path to permanent housing.
Safe Havens are “low-threshold” resources: they have fewer requirements, making them attractive to those who are reluctant to accept shelter. There are no curfews and more privacy. A client can miss a night at the Safe Haven without losing his or her bed, as they would at a traditional shelter.
But fewer restrictions do not signal a hands-off approach. Safe Havens offer intensive case management, along with mental health and substance abuse assistance, with the ultimate goal of moving each client into permanent housing. Safe Havens are, thus, a crucial harm reduction/Housing First resource to enable the most entrenched chronically homeless, who are reluctant to leave behind their unsheltered lives, to accept help.
