New York City experienced the largest increase in homelessness of any city in the country between 2022 and 2023, according to an April report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Over 120,000 people reside in the city’s shelter system, and more than 4,000 live unsheltered in public spaces.

To help people who approach St. Patrick’s Cathedral for assistance, Colin Nykaza, Director of Evangelization and Service Outreach at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, contacted City Relief, a Christian nonprofit organization that creates pop-up outreach events in New York City and New Jersey to help the homeless. Together with Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church they hosted their first onsite homeless outreach.