Welcome to Homeless Services United Annual Policy Forum!
Across New York City, a relatively small group of people experiencing homelessness carry the highest levels of need, and too often, the heaviest burden of our systems’ gaps. They are overrepresented in shelter, on the streets, in psychiatric emergency rooms, and in the criminal legal system.
“From Crisis to Connection” is a focused, half-day forum where HSU members, experts, and government partners will step back from the daily operations to discuss coordinated models, flexible resources, and policies that match what staff and participants need.
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Network: Baruch-Events
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Program Schedule
8:30 AM
Networking Breakfast and Vendor Show
9:15 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr. Helen Arteaga – Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
9:30 AM
Keynote Address
Dr. Van Yu – Chief Medical Officer, Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS)
10:05 AM
Networking Breakfast and Vendor Show
10:20 AM
Coordinating Care Across Systems
A client experiencing complex behavioral care needs will enter multiple systems of care at once, yet there is little collaboration amongst the systems. This panel brings together experts in the field on the various systems that clients may pass through. They will examine current barriers they face in the work to place clients and recommend changes that can be made in the short and medium term, then have an open discussion on long-term systems change that we can work collectively to implement to improve client experience and outcomes. The panel will feature:
- Katie Bower, LMSW – Chief Housing & Shelter Officer, Project Renewal
- Helen “Skip” Skipper – Founder & Executive Director, NYC Justice Peer Initiative
- Jessie Schwartz, BSN, MPH, RN – Director of Behavioral Health Complex Needs, NYC Health + Hospitals
- Deanna Logan – Director, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ)
- Moderator: Kristin Miller – Executive Director, Homeless Services United
11:35 AM
Closing Remarks
Our Speakers
Dr. Helen Arteaga
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Dr. Helen Arteaga is the City of New York’s Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. She was appointed to this position by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in January 2026. The Deputy Mayor oversees and coordinates operations of the Health + Hospitals Corporation, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Department of Social Services, the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Homeless Services, the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department for the Aging, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence, the Department of Veterans’ Services, and the Office of Community Mental Health.
Prior to this role Helen was first woman and the first Latina to serve as CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, a Level 1 Trauma Center and one of the largest healthcare facilities in New York City. Under Helen’s leadership, Elmhurst was recognized as one of U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Regional Hospitals” and as one of the nation’s “High Performing” hospitals, as well as a “Top Place to Work” by City and State NY. In her role as CEO she also secured millions in public funding for key capital projects for the facility, including $27.5 Million from New York State for a new Women’s Pavilion and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, along with other federal, state, and New York City funds totaling close to $140 million for major improvement initiatives. Helen has a bachelor’s degree from New York University, a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from the City University of New York. In 2025, she was named as one of City and State’s Queens Power 100. She was also noted as one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Women Hospital Presidents and CEOs to Know” for both 2024 and 2025. Helen is a recipient of the prestigious Joan H. Tisch Community Health Prize from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund for her distinguished accomplishments in the field of urban public health, the Mujeres Destacadas award from El Diario NY, the City University of New York’s “50 Under 50” alumni award, and a notable alumni award from CUNY’s School of Public Health.
Dr. Van Yu
Chief Medical Officer, Center Urban Community Services (CUCS)
Dr. Yu is Chief Medical Officer of the Center Urban Community Services (CUCS) and its healthcare affiliate Janian Medical Care, which provides on-site psychiatric and primary care to people lived experience of homelessness at outreach programs, drop-in centers, shelters, safe havens and supportive housing programs.
Dr. Yu earned his medical degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1995 and completed residency training in psychiatry in 1999, including serving as a chief resident, at the New York University Medical Center. After completing residency, Dr. Yu was an Attending Psychiatrist in the Bellevue Hospital Center Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) for two years before becoming Assistant Director from April 2001 to March 2003. He joined the Project for Psychiatric Outreach to the Homeless, the precursor of Janian Medical Care, as a Staff Psychiatrist in April 2003. He also served as Medical Director of the Manhattan Outreach Consortium from 2007 to 2013.
Dr. Yu is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Medicine where he has had a faculty appointment since 1998.
Skip (Hellen “Skip” Skipper)
Founder & Executive Director, NYC Justice Peer Initiative
Skip, as she prefers to be called, has been working in peer support since her final release from multiple incarcerations and behavioral health systems involvement (25+ years) in 2007. After serving as the first peer supervisor employed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, she then moved on to the NYC Criminal Justice Agency, where her last position was senior manager of peer services. She became the founding executive director of the NYC Justice Peer Initiative in March 2022. A recognized subject-matter expert on justice-involved peer support; she consults nationally on designing programs and creating pathways to employment while promoting the inclusion of lived experiences. She trains NYPD and NYC’s B-Heard program in Peer C.I.T., consults with the Urban Institute, and champions community voices.
A member of several “higher education for the justice-impacted” coalitions and a graduate of St. Francis College (with honors), Skip graduated with a master’s degree (with distinction) in criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in May 2025. A newly minted adjunct professor teaching peer competencies & frameworks at Laguardia Community College’s MHCP training program – Skip is an accomplished keynote speaker, presenter and trainer and travel nationally doing this work. She has presented original scholarship at the American Society of Criminology annual conference, has published academic work. Her latest piece in the Division of Corrections and Sentencing Handbook series – Handbook on Lived Experience in the Criminal Justice System has been widely acclaimed. Skip is also on track to earn a PhD and is an Amazon best-selling author for her contribution to the anthology “If These Scars Could Talk,” written by directly impacted women. The inaugural Executive Chair of the NYC Peer Workforce Coalition, she co-won a SAMHSA Recovery Innovation Challenge in 2022 and then was crowned SAMHSA Equity Champion of the Year in 2024. She sits on multiple boards, including the NYC Board of Correction as Vice Chair and the Council on Criminal Justice. Her mantra— “I’ve been around the block a time or two on my tricycle and use those experiences to help mentor and guide others” — reflects her advocacy and unwavering commitment to those impacted by the criminal justice and behavioral health systems. Skip is determined that these traumatic systems will not build another “Skip.”
Katie Bower, LMSW
Chief Housing & Shelter Officer, Project Renewal
Katie Bower oversees the operations of Project Renewal’s 18 housing and shelter programs, including permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, affordable housing, and emergency shelter. In this role, she focuses on meaningful service integration to ensure residents of Project Renewal buildings are further supported with health, employment, and other community resources. She also collaborates closely on the development of shelter and housing projects in the agency pipeline.
Katie joined Project Renewal in 2006 as a Quality Assurance Officer, steadily growing into several Director positions and then a Vice President of Programs position before being appointed CHSO in recognition of her deep institutional knowledge and track record of programmatic success. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) with an MS from Columbia University and BA from the Catholic University of America.
Jessie Schwartz, BSN, MPH, RN
Director of Behavioral Health Complex Needs, NYC Health + Hospitals
Jessie Schwartz brings over two decades of diverse nursing experience spanning clinical practice and public health program management. She is committed to driving programs that enhance access to care and improve patient outcomes for underserved populations—including those experiencing homelessness, behavioral health challenges, disabilities, and justice system involvement. Currently serving as Director of Behavioral Health Complex Needs at NYC Health + Hospitals, Jessie leads multidisciplinary team efforts to improve systems to support individuals with the most complex health and social needs. Her prior experience includes developing a centralized care coordination program at the NYC Department of Homeless Services, managing access to care programs at the NYC Health Department, and over a decade of experience as a critical care nurse in the NY Presbyterian system.
She earned her master’s of public health from Hunter College as well as a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and community studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, in addition to a bachelor’s in nursing from Lehman College; she has authored or co-authored several articles evaluating access to care programs in publications such as EClinicalMedicine and BMH Public Health.
Deanna Logan
Director, Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice
Deanna Logan serves as the Director of MOCJ. She previously served as the General Counsel and Deputy Director of Crime Strategies for the office. She joined MOCJ in 2019 as the Deputy Director of Crime Strategies, and coordinated the efforts of courts, DOC, CHS, DSS, DOF and NYPD to meet the requirements of the City’s Criminal Justice Reform Act. Prior to joining MOCJ she worked with DA Darcel Clark to design, establish and supervise the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau. Prior to her work in the Bronx, Deanna served as the Assistant Commissioner at the New York City Department of Correction (DOC), where she worked to reform and strengthen internal discipline. The first eight years of Deanna’s career was spent in public service as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the New York County District Attorney (DANY). There she investigated and prosecuted felony cases involving narcotics violations, domestic violence, sexual assaults and child abuse. After leaving DANY, she joined the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) as a litigator addressing misconduct issues. She eventually became the Managing Director of Rule Development at the NYSE responsible for enforcing the rules that govern the markets and impact the industry while representing the NYSE before the Securities and Exchange Commission. After NYSE, she spent a short time at Barclays Capital Market Makers working as the Director of Compliance on the trading Floor. Deanna returned to public service when she joined the DOC.
Deanna holds a BA in political science from Boston University and earned her J.D. at New York University School of Law.
Jorge Pablo Hernandez
Artist Highlight
Artwork featured courtesy of Nazareth Housing
Jorge Pablo Hernandez is an artist whose work incorporates elements of architecture, engineering and chemistry. Through linear and geometric forms, he expresses his vision of New York City and reflects on the structures that shape daily life across cities and communities.
The featured piece includes the phrase, “Que Con Obras De Nuestras Manos Hagan Prosperar Nuestra Vidas,” which translates to “That Through The Work Of Our Hands We May Prosper Our Lives.” The sentiment speaks to dignity, effort and the role of human agency in shaping one’s future.
Jorge’s work is represented by Fountain House Gallery.
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