About Us
New Alternatives increases the self-sufficiency of LGBTQ+ youth and young adults experiencing homelessness by enabling them to transition out of the shelter system to stable adult lives. We do this by providing long-term support, weekly case management, education services, life skills training, community-building recreational activities, opportunities for self-expression, and programs for HIV+ youth. Our guiding principles are those of harm reduction, youth development, and empowerment.
From the Streets to the Heart
From the Streets to the Heart is a limited-edition photobook by award-winning Dutch photographer Ernst Coppejans. Between 2022 and 2024, Coppejans traveled repeatedly to New York City to meet and photograph LGBTQ+ young adults at New Alternatives. The result is a moving collection of 30 portraits, 30 cityscapes, and 30 life stories that shed light on resilience, dignity, and survival in the face of rejection and systemic injustice.
Each portrait is accompanied by a fragment of the person’s story—raw, real, and unfiltered. Through an integrated QR code, readers can listen to the participants’ voices themselves, creating a deeply intimate and multi-sensory experience that goes beyond the printed page.
The book arrives at a critical time. In the United States alone, more than 2,100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced since 2023, many directly targeting transgender people. Visibility, dignity, and truth are under threat on a daily basis. From the Streets to the Heart bears witness, refusing erasure, and insists: these lives matter. It is not just a book, it is an urgent call to see, to listen, and to care.
Read the foreword of From the Streets to the Heart written by our Found Kate Barnhart here.
Our Work
Basic Needs
Nutritious homemade meals, hygiene supplies, harm reduction supplies, clothing, OMNY cards, 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!
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.
Education
We strive to ensure all youth have the opportunity to learn and can arrange volunteer tutors 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 to the success of our clients.
Self-Expression
Creative writing and video groups give our youth the chance to express themselves and share their experiences in an artistic and therapeutic way.
Testing and Prevention
New Alternatives provides onsite STI testing and referrals for comprehensive health services through our partnership with Project Stay. Project STAY is administered jointly by the New York Presbyterian Hospital Ambulatory Care Network Corporation and the Harlem Health Promotion Center (HHPC) within the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Board of Directors
President
Andy Humm
Treasurer
Jeffry Mummert
Secretary
Amy Raspatello
Members
Michaela Murphy
Jenna Tine
Grant Woolfolk
Our Funders
Our funders are as diverse and varied as the community we serve, and we are sincerely thankful for the foundations and organizations that continue to demonstrate their commitment to the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth. We gratefully acknowledge our most generous supporters.
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Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation
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Lawson Valentine Foundation