What Do the Homeless Need Most?

Like all people, they’re individuals and every individual is different. Some homeless people need help with addictions. Some need medical care. Some have just become homeless and have fallen through the social safety net and need quick intervention to keep them from becoming entrenched in homelessness. Others have long-term problems that require multiple remedies. Most need a healthy meal and a permanent place to stay, but giving them pocket change or a sandwich is unlikely to go very far in solving their problems.

You get the idea: what homeless people need most is probably not so much a specific thing or service as people who are trained to work with them to analyze their individual situation and help them make the connections that will provide what they need. And that’s the concept behind the MTA’s Connections Outreach program.

Subways, stations, and terminals may seem like a haven for those in need, but they are not safe places to live. Clinically trained outreach workers in the Connections program give priority to the mentally ill, substance abusers, the frail elderly, and the medically needy. The workers connect these wary, isolated people to medical and psychological care, substance abuse treatment, and shelter. And they follow up on their progress. The result is a win-win situation and a better transportation environment for everyone.

New York City Transit Police began Homeless Outreach in 1982, New York City Transit took over in 1989 and MTA centralized efforts in 1990. Currently MTA Connections program services are under contract with Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC).

MTA Connections operates in subway stations and terminal stations, the Long Island Rail Road Concourse at Penn Station, rights-of-way (the land occupied by the railroad’s lines) and stations in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, Grand Central Terminal, and Metro-North Railroad stations and rights-of-way.

Joint outreach is conducted with the MTA Police, the NYPD Homeless Outreach Unit (HOU) and the Transit Bureau District.

Target areas are selected in response to customer, employee, or community complaints. The level of priority is determined in consultation with agency representatives, the MTA Police, and the NYPD Homeless Outreach Unit (HOU).

Outreach is also conducted at secondary stations whose locations are proximate to the Primary Target stations or terminals.

Subway terminal stations provide an opportunity for Connections staff to outreach to homeless individuals who have been riding the trains. (To allow car cleaners to remove debris prior to the next run, cars are often cleaned at the terminal station in conjunction with the police, who safely awaken sleeping individuals and assist in linking appropriate individuals with Connections staff). Subway lines targeted for intensive, coordinated outreach includes: A Line, 1 Line and E Line Initiative.

Overnight outreach focuses on five terminals per week. The Connections Outreach staff, NYPD Homeless Outreach Unit and/or Transit Bureau and subway staff coordinate efforts at the terminals to improve the effectiveness of these outreach efforts. This coordinated effort concentrates joint outreach resources at one terminal per night (Parsons Archer, 179 St., 207 St., 242 St., and Coney Island) with Police. Other terminals are also monitored and placed into the rotation of targeted terminals based on need.

Primary Target Stations and terminal locations include, but are not limited to:

Stations:	Terminal Stations:
W. 4th St. (24/7) 34th St. /6th Ave. (24/7) 42nd St./6th Ave. 42nd St./Lexington Ave. (24/7) 53rd St./5th Ave. (24/7) 53rd St/Lexington Ave. 57th /6th (24/7) 1/9 Line Stations (96th thru 191st Streets)	242nd St (1/9 Line) (24/7) 207th St. (A Line) (24/7) 205th St. (D Line) Parsons/Archer (E Line) – (overnight) WTC (E Line) (24/7) 179th St, (F Line) – (overnight) Mott Ave. (A Line) – (overnight) Coney Island (F Line) – (overnight)

In 2003, a team was added to conduct joint outreach with the MTA Police on LIRR rights-of-way in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk County and MNR rights-of-way in the Bronx and Westchester counties. The majority of the population in the rights-of-way and suburban station service area are illegal immigrants working as day laborers resulting in a population that is very service resistant and difficult to engage because of their immigrant status. Consistent police monitoring, social service outreach along with much needed follow-up at MTA rights-of-way locations is central to the program to prevent the homeless from reappearing on the MTA rights-of-way.