Award-winning Broadway actor, dancer and singer, Walter Russell III, features in our new PSA for our annual community service campaign, Operation Backpack®. Make a donation to help provide children experiencing homelessness with backpacks and the school supplies they need to succeed in the classroom!

Three years ago, Eric’s life took a turn.  A Marine Corps veteran from East Harlem, Eric completed his service in 1992 after two deployments abroad and started a career at UPS, where he still works today.  He’d long been in a difficult marriage, with his wife’s behavior becoming increasingly aggressive. Things came to a head after Eric had a stroke. One day his wife locked him out of their shared home and refused to allow him access to his belongings—including his medication—landing Eric back in the hospital.  Unable to return home, Eric sought the help of VOA-GNY’s Supportive Services for…

The event supports the nonprofit’s annual Operation Backpack® campaign. NEW YORK – For the second year in a row, Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY) and Westfield World Trade Center are partnering for a backpack drive in support of Operation Backpack®, VOA-GNY’s annual initiative that provides tens of thousands of children living in a New York City homeless or domestic violence shelter with a new backpack and school supplies. During the six-day event, the public is invited to drop off new, empty backpacks for students of all ages at the Shops at the Oculus. The backpacks will be filled with…

NEW YORK – Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY) announced its Survivors and Pets Opportunity to Thrive (SPOT) Initiative, an expansion of resources for survivors and their pets across the organization’s seven domestic violence shelters.

NEW YORK – Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY) announced its Survivors and Pets Opportunity to Thrive (SPOT) Initiative, an expansion of resources for survivors and their pets across the organization’s seven domestic violence shelters. The SPOT Initiative will allow VOA-GNY to better serve survivors and their animal companions when they seek shelter, and create a more welcoming atmosphere for clients, their families, and their pets. Pets play an important role as a source of emotional support for survivors, particularly for children, and the ability to bring a beloved family pet to the shelter helps to create a much-needed sense…

“Our work in New Jersey builds on a foundation of success, following similar initiatives led by First Place for Youth in California. Through My First Place, we are helping current and former foster youth ages 18-23, or “older foster youth,” identify and achieve educational goals that will put them on the path to college or employment. We also provide financial literacy tutoring and, most importantly, fully subsidized housing throughout this process.” Read the full op-ed by VOA-GNY Assistant Vice President for Northern New Jersey, Paula Turso, in New Jersey Herald.

Volunteers of America-Greater New York has been selected as part of the 2024 Lowe’s Hometowns program, a five-year, $100 million commitment to rebuild and revitalize community spaces nationwide.

Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY) condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of laws that criminalize sleeping in public spaces even when there is a lack of shelter.

LGBTQ+ adults are more than twice as likely to report experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives, as compared to the general population. In the New York City shelter system, well-documented challenges around lack of privacy and safety are especially acute where the LGBTQ+ community is concerned. In particular, transgender individuals are more likely to choose to live in public spaces such as streets and subways rather than navigate a system where most shelters are divided by gender binary. “The sparse options for LGBTQ+ individuals experiencing homelessness is an urgent challenge, but there are models that illuminate the path…