Housing help after release ranges from emergency shelter and transitional residences to long-term supportive housing with on-site services. Many programs here are built for people on parole or probation, and supportive housing usually requires an HRA 2010e application, which a case manager or program staff member can submit for you.
Tip: if you're on parole, get any new address approved by your parole officer before you move, and keep a copy of your release paperwork, since many housing programs ask for proof of recent incarceration.
Many citywide organizations also have their main offices in Manhattan, so a short subway ride can widen your options.
51 services based in Manhattan, plus 56 citywide
24-hour walk-in center and shelter for young adults: crisis care, shelter, transitional living, healthcare, job readiness, education support, legal services, outreach. Health and Wellness Center 212.613.0315.
Support for victims of crime and abuse: shelter, advocacy, counseling, legal services and supervised visitation; welcomes all survivors regardless of immigration status. Hotline 800.621.4673.
Case management, medical and psychiatric services for people in supportive housing in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx; phone consultation and referrals for mental health supportive housing; free financial assistance.
Provides services to people living with mental health concerns, including supportive and stable housing, education, job retention support and assisted competitive employment, peer training, health and wellness programs, and advocacy. Affiliated programs include Blueprint Supported Education and the Howie the Harp Advocacy Center, which trains people with mental health recovery experience to become peer support workers.
Paid transitional work, transitional housing, case management, legal services, vocational training and job/housing placement for homeless and formerly incarcerated men.
Reentry services for people released from NYS facilities: on-site Medicaid/SNAP enrollment, clothing, HSE classes, resumes, substance use treatment, counseling; pays for lost birth certificates and NYS ID.
Provides adoption and foster care, education, school- and community-based health clinics, Head Start classes, after-school/summer programs, and parenting and substance-use/teen-pregnancy prevention programs in high-need NYC neighborhoods. Also offers high school equivalency prep, job readiness, and housing assistance for youth in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Crisis Intervention Program: help getting emergency shelter, benefits and permanent housing; referrals to treatment, job training and eviction prevention. Does not run shelters.
Clubhouse community for people living with mental illness with clinical, employment and housing support, senior programs and subsidized lunch.
A reentry program for young men ages 16-24 focused on education, employment, and emotional well-being; offers supportive counseling, educational support, vocational training, workforce development, technology like phones, and referrals to mental health, substance use, anger management, and emergency housing services.
Free mediation, restorative justice services and training for community, housing, co-parenting, civil and criminal court, youth and special education disputes.
Free phone consultations with an attorney on family, landlord/tenant, employment and tax law; interpreter services available.
Faith-based services for homeless and hungry New Yorkers: meals, clothing, showers, haircuts, shelter, medical care, legal referrals, residential recovery, transitional housing, vocational training and employment services.
24-hour drop-in for registered clients: meals, clothing, showers, case management, crisis intervention, housing placement and referrals; one overnight chair via 4:30-5pm drop-in. Also a Staten Island drop-in at 150D Richmond Terrace (718.720.0079).
Provides case management and personalized support for women impacted by the criminal legal system and their families, including help finding safe and affordable housing, developing workplace skills, reunifying families, accessing healthcare and mental health services, and reentry planning for those still incarcerated.
Free legal services for system-impacted youth: job and license denials due to convictions, public housing denials, school suspensions, summonses and low-level misdemeanors, family court, and RAP sheet corrections.
Provides supportive housing for the chronically homeless, low-income working adults, youth aging out of foster care, veterans, seniors, people with HIV/AIDS, and people living with mental illness, along with benefits assistance, medical and mental health care, substance use referrals, skills-building, and connections to employment.
Provides free services to New Yorkers who are chronically homeless, living with HIV/AIDS, substance use disorder, or mental illness, including court-involved individuals. Core services include housing, HIV/hepatitis prevention and testing, reentry support, case management, and vocational/educational assessment.
Tenant hotline and free walk-in Tenants' Rights clinics (Oct-Jun) for landlord-tenant disputes; help forming a tenants' association.
Shelter, transitional and supportive housing, mental health and primary care, and job training; Parole Support and Treatment Program for people with a mental health diagnosis.
Provides shelter and supportive services for women with children in NYC, including job-readiness training, HSE classes, childcare, and college preparedness.
Outpatient and inpatient substance use disorder clinic offering treatment and recovery services, with specialized care for co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder. Also provides transitional living for homeless young adults, day services for older adults, and a food pantry open to the public midweek.
Residential program for women with a history of substance use, including formerly incarcerated women: trauma-informed clinical care, counseling, mental health services, education and vocational support, on-site childcare, benefits enrollment, aftercare.
Drop-in center for single adults with chairs, three meals a day, free showers (Mon-Fri 8:30-10:30), clothing, medical services, social work, housing vouchers and help finding permanent housing. Open 24/7.
Provides residential and outpatient treatment for New Yorkers with substance use disorders. The drug-free residential program serves adults 18+, while outpatient services are available for both adolescents and adults, combining counseling and medication with housing, education, and job training support.
Housing, treatment and rehabilitation, skill-building and care coordination.
Advocates and works on behalf of children who are at risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure due to poverty, disability, race, ethnicity, immigrant or English language learner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, or involvement in the foster care or juvenile court systems.
Housing and drop-in services for homeless LGBTQ+ young people.
Works with youth and young adults who are unhoused, on probation, living in the shelter system, or have recently returned to their communities after periods of being incarcerated.
Emergency food, housing help, immigration services and case management; serves all faiths.
Community justice center in East Harlem offering housing court support, youth programs and reentry services.
Offers free legal assistance to low-income LGBTQIA+, polyamorous, and chosen family communities in New York.
24/7 shelter intake for single men; the guide recommends it for people who need housing immediately on reentry.
Provides counseling, therapeutic and recreational groups, referrals to housing, legal and educational resources, transitional housing, court advocacy, and peer mentoring for girls and women ages 12–29 who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and/ or domestic trafficking.
Lower East Side settlement house: workforce center, mental health clinic, shelters and senior services.
Provides free year-round programs and services for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 13–24 and their families.
Provides free legal services to indigent deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing New Yorkers on a range of civil matters, including housing, family, public benefits, student loans, immigration, and asylum cases.
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Interpreter assistance is available for individuals who do not speak English.
Offers a wide range of programs for NYC youth including afterschool, community development, family support, literary services, youth services, youth workshop development, internships, and job placement. Services include vocational training, HSE preparation, and assistance with finding jobs and shelter.
Intake for single adult men seeking city shelter; women use Franklin Women's Shelter in the Bronx.
Offers information and referrals in the areas of housing, transportation, discrimination, education, employment, health, Social Security, and services to the homebound. Multiple languages spoken.
Supports a wide range of programs for New Yorkers impacted by the criminal legal system including alternatives to incarceration, housing, employment, and legal services, health care, neighborhood engagement, and more.
Operates drop-in centers which provide free services to homeless youth up to age 25, including emergency services such as crisis housing, hot meals, showers, clothing, medical services, legal assistance, individual and group counseling, HIV prevention materials and testing, and assistance obtaining public benefits...
Legal help for trans, intersex and gender-nonconforming people, including discrimination in the shelter system.
Legal help and research for tenants, workers and community groups.
Supportive housing, mental health and substance use treatment, and job services.
One-stop youth center with health care, legal help, education, job training and meals.
A free resource for people in prison who wish to file a federal lawsuit addressing poor conditions in prison or abuse by prison staff. Visit the website to place an order for a currently incarcerated friend or loved one.
Offers programs for women impacted by the criminal legal system. The Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program in NYC provides housing support and services to women fleeing domestic violence and those impacted by the criminal legal system; pairs shortto medium-term rental assistance with comprehensive case management.
Shelters, supportive housing and services for veterans, DV survivors and people with disabilities.
These serve people from every borough, often by phone, online or at more than one office.
Online tools and peer support for people facing housing discrimination because they use rental vouchers (CityFHEPS, Section 8, FHEPS, HASA); helps document and report discrimination and connects to agencies.
Information for tenants, landlords and advocates: housing court procedures, landlord-tenant rules, code violations, referrals to free legal help and back-rent assistance.
Free civil legal services in housing, benefits and immigration, plus representation for conviction-history employment discrimination.
Provides free legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers on housing, civil rights, disability rights, aging rights, bankruptcy, tax, consumer, employment, government benefits, and kinship care matters, including advice, counsel, and representation to help people with past criminal records re-enter the workforce.
Free legal information, assistance and referrals from trained non-lawyer volunteers supervised by an attorney: benefits, employment, housing, family, immigration, health, divorce, domestic violence.
Connects soon-to-be-released and formerly incarcerated individuals to medical, mental health, and case management services, including substance use programs, plus vocational training, help obtaining entitlements, and referrals to long-term housing placement.
Confidential information on HIV/AIDS testing and service referrals; HASA supports benefits and housing for eligible people with HIV.
Clubhouse-model mental health rehabilitation: job development and coaching, supported education, supportive housing, virtual programs and social events.
Information and applications for NYC affordable housing lotteries, in multiple languages.
Eviction prevention, emergency rental assistance, benefits help, financial counseling and relocation help.
Reunites select people leaving prison or jail with family living in qualified NYCHA apartments and provides reentry services and intensive case management.
Free online tools for tenants: repair complaint letters sent by certified mail, building/landlord lookup (Who Owns What), Good Cause eviction screener and eviction help.
