New Alternatives for LGBT Homeless Youth
Care • Hope • Empowerment
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Recent studies indicate that LGBTQ+ youth comprise nearly 40% of the homeless youth population in New York City. At an estimated 7% of the total youth population, young people in our community are disproportionately affected by homelessness and hundreds of young adults have no place to call home each night in New York City. Whether they have been kicked out by homophobic relatives, forced to flee conservative communities, aged out of foster care, or come from families torn apart by poverty and drug abuse, these young people sleep in city parks, on the subway, and in public spaces like Port Authority and Penn Station. New Alternatives is advocating for change. We are dedicated to the care and well-being of our clients and are at the forefront of combating the epidemic of poverty and homelessness in New York City's LGBTQ+ youth population. We aim to provide all youth who come to us for support with the tools and resources they need to thrive.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Sunday Community Dinner and Life Skills Workshop
Every Sunday evening, we provide our clients with a homemade meal, a safe space to be with their peers, and a place to discuss issues affecting their daily lives. All youth who attend these gatherings also have the opportunity to collect hygiene supplies, shop our donated clothing closet, and receive comprehensive HIV & STI screenings through our partnership with Project Stay.
After dinner, we offer an interactive Life Skills Group that focuses on issues and topics relevant to the needs of our clients including suicide prevention, HIV/AIDS education, anger management, conflict resolution, nutrition, and housing rights.
Walk-In Case Management Clinic
In addition to counseling and crisis intervention, our Case Management Clinic offers young people assistance with any challenges or obstacles they may face. They simply need to walk in. We have staff and volunteers available to help our clients obtain identifying documents, apply for benefits, prepare housing applications, access medical and mental health services, complete admission and financial aid applications for college, and apply for employment just to name a few of the services we provide regularly.
Client Support Groups
Secondary to our primary programs, we offer a number of support groups and recreational activities to our clients.
• HIV+ Peer Support Group
• Creative Writing Group
• Book Club
• Recovery Support
• Anger Management
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Coalition for Homeless Youth 2021
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people, Homeless people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
youth who accessed drop-in services
Number of new clients within the past 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people, Homeless people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Clients who joined us for the first time for a meal and/or life skills workshop.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people, Homeless people
Related Program
Sunday Community Dinner and Life Skills Workshop
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Clients who attended at least one Life Skills Workshop
Number of individual case management sessions provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people, Homeless people
Related Program
Walk-In Case Management Clinic
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Case Mgmt sessions address issues such as benefits, education, employment, food/clothing/hygiene, housing, government ID, Legal, mental health, physical health, travel needs, and other issues.
Annual Sunday dinner attendance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
LGBTQ people, Homeless people
Related Program
Sunday Community Dinner and Life Skills Workshop
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Statistics on LGBTQ+ youth homelessness are just the beginning. LGBTQ+ youth also experience higher rates of bullying, sexual assault, violence, trauma, HIV infection, mental health disorders, and substance abuse than their heterosexual peers, which indicates the needs of homeless LGBTQ+ youth go far beyond housing alone. While these youth do cite housing and shelter as their primary need, many may be surprised to learn that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning homeless youth typically rate acceptance and emotional support as their second greatest need. Transgender homeless youth claim transition-related support as their number two need. This includes name/gender marker changes, access to trans-specific healthcare, access to hormones, legal assistance, and community support.
New Alternatives aims to address all of these needs and more with individualized care and long-term support. We recognize that guiding LGBTQ+ homeless youth toward stability and maintaining an accessible support system are crucial if we are going foster an environment where they can thrive and successfully transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency. Our primary goal is to ensure all LGBTQ+ homeless youth who walk through our doors find secure housing, adequate healthcare, opportunities for education and fair employment, and a loving community where they belong.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
New Alternatives primarily assists LGBTQ+ youth who are 16–24 years of age and homeless or at risk. We define homelessness broadly to include youth living on the street, youth in shelters or transitional living programs, and youth without a permanent place to stay.
New clients are accepted on a walk-in basis every Monday, Friday, and Sunday. We welcome all youth as they are without judgment and no barriers to entry. Identification and paperwork are not required for registration, and a referral letter is not necessary. Youth can simply walk in and begin receiving services immediately. This zero-barrier-to-entry approach allows us to reach young people who are street homeless and others whose lives are too chaotic and unstable to navigate paperwork, waiting lists, and set appointment times. In addition, we utilize harm-reduction methods that allow us to work with youth deemed "too difficult" or problematic by other organizations and frequently work with clients who have been removed from other agencies or shelters—young people with severe mental illness, challenging behavior, or addiction issues.
We also use a distinctively client-centered approach focused on empowerment. Instead of restricting our clients to a predetermined agenda or set of priorities, we allow them to tell us what issues they need assistance with and to define their own goals. This gives us the opportunity to establish trust and approach each case on an individual, needs-specific basis. Through long-term support and engagement, we can then begin to unravel more difficult issues and trauma that can take years to resolve.
Some of the many services we provide include:
Basic Needs
Nutritious homemade meals, distribution of hygiene supplies, emergency clothing, MetroCards, urgent referrals for shelter, and referrals for primary care and psychiatric support are all part of the ways we meet the essential needs of homeless youth.
Case Management
This is the place for young people to bring their problems. None are too big or small—arrest warrants, finding a long-lost relative, applying for disability benefits, returning to high school or college, back taxes... We help with all of it!
Community-Building Recreational Activities
College tours, barbecues, camping, beach trips, apple picking, holiday celebrations, and trips to conferences are just some of the many activities that we offer throughout the year.
Education
We strive to ensure all youth have the opportunity to learn. Our volunteer tutors are always on hand to assist with GED and SAT preparation, college applications, and financial aid paperwork.
Life Skills Training
Whether the topic is HIV prevention, anger management, nutrition, or conflict resolution, the skills discussed in our weekly life skills group are relevant and vital.
Testing and Prevention
New Alternatives provides onsite STI testing and referrals for comprehensive health services through our partnership with Project Stay.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As a small, independent nonprofit organization, New Alternatives is uniquely situated to help LGBTQ+ homeless youth. In 2008, our founder and Executive Director, Kate Barnhart, recognized there was an unfilled need for continuous, long-term case management after many years of working with this population. Too often, a young person's access to social services was tied to their housing. When transitioning from temporary shelters to more stable housing or between different programs, young people would have to start over again and again with a new case manager resulting in a loss of progress and trust that had been established.
New Alternatives was designed to offer a new solution. It was created to be a standalone organization that provides support and guidance for homeless youth through all stages of homelessness and throughout the entire time, in most cases many years, it takes to become a self-sufficient adult. We also have the flexibility to adapt to the individual needs of our clients and can tailor our support to their specific circumstances. In addition to Kate's leadership, we have amassed a database of over 2,000 volunteers who support our programs and help us provide our services. As a predominately volunteer organization, we are able to accomplish a tremendous amount with a relatively minimal budget.
Our twice-weekly Case Management Clinic offers young people assistance with any challenges or obstacles they may face. They simply need to walk in. We have staff and volunteers available to help with housing, benefits, identification, physical health, mental health, legal issues, education, and employment. We also offer individual counseling and crisis intervention.
Our Sunday Community Dinners provide clients with a homemade meal, a safe space to be with their peers, and a place to discuss issues affecting their daily lives. Clients also have the opportunity to collect hygiene supplies, shop our donated clothing closet, and receive comprehensive HIV & STI testing at these gatherings.
Through our Angel Donor program, we respond to the individual needs of clients and fill urgent requests such as bus tickets home, uniforms for work, household items for a first apartment, college textbooks, and MetroCards for youth starting new jobs. We also offer a variety of client support groups including a weekly life skills group, a book club, a creative writing group, and an HIV peer support group.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In a recent 24-hour period, we helped a young woman completing a drug program get her NYS ID, referred a client with mental illness to the Mental Health Law Project for assistance with disability benefits, helped a young man enroll in classes to become a Nursing Assistant, discussed peer counseling programs with a young woman coping with schizophrenia, helped a client prep for a job interview, reviewed housing options with a young man in an emergency shelter, created a budget with a young woman for her disability payments, completed paperwork necessary to transfer a client with diabetes to a facility where he can cook for himself, and referred a young man feeling unsafe in a city shelter to a safe housing program for LGBTQ+ young adults.
That was just a single day at New Alternatives. Now, imagine what we accomplish each year. We will continue to serve LGBTQ+ homeless youth in New York City and would like to thank the many donors, volunteers, and supporters who make our work possible. Looking ahead, we hope to strengthen and expand our programs and will always strive to ensure the young people we serve are housed, clothed, fed, cared for, and educated.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
New Alternatives for LGBT Homeless Youth
Board of directorsas of 05/03/2022
Mr. Harlem Gunness
St. John's University
Term: 2021 - 2025
Andy Humm
Self-Employed
Jeffry Mummert
Salesforce
Grant Woolfolk
Michaela Murphy
Jack Sherratt
Amy Raspatello
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/29/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.