Who We Are
BRC combines client-centered care with a commitment to professional management & organizational responsibility
Mission
Helping people reclaim lives lost: We restore hope and dignity by offering opportunities for health and
self-sufficiency.
Core Values
Access to Holistic, Comprehensive Care
We work holistically: listening to clients, meeting them where they are at, and understanding their needs. BRC provides access to a robust range of integrated, comprehensive services, empowering clients to reclaim their lives from the complex challenges of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.
Client-Centered, Strengths-Based Approach
Each BRC client is an individual with unique needs, strengths, and potential. By treating each person with dignity and respect, and expecting the same in return, we work to empower those we serve to achieve and maintain a healthier and more independent life.
Evidence- & Needs-Based Innovation
BRC is characterized by a culture of constant inquiry, leading to true innovation. We combine an analytical management approach with a commitment to tailoring our services to the unique needs of each individual, identifying solutions that address previously unmet needs of clients experiencing homelessness.
Our Commitment to the
Community
BRC’s legacy as an organization founded by clients for mutual self-aid continues to inform our commitment to transforming both the lives of clients, and the community of which we are a part. We collaborate with our peers in government, the private sector, and the community.
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Our History
New York City‘s Bowery neighborhood was once a place where people went to hide from their problems, finding refuge in makeshift shelters and flophouses that offered little more than four-foot by six-foot cubicles with chicken wire roofs, dingy mattresses, and a single bare lightbulb.
Most of the men that lived on the Bowery - New York‘s "Skid Row" - were addicted to alcohol and drugs, beset by physical and mental illness, without shelter and without hope. Most, but not all. In 1971, a handful of these Bowery residents began to take control of their lives, and to change them for the better. This small group of men created a self-help day program where sober men could escape despair and support one another. Initially called the "The Social Rehabilitation Club for Public Inebriates," this mutual-aid would eventually grow into the The Bowery Residents‘ Committee (BRC) that we know today.
In 1976, BRC created it’s first residential program, the Sobering-Up Station, a place that offered professional support and community assistance. With this development, BRC began to build its reputation as a center of dignity and self-respect for New Yorkers in crisis.
Through today, BRC has created programs and facilities designed to serve the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including services like transit outreach, temporary housing, workforce development, long-term housing, and more. As long as there are New Yorkers that need these services, BRC will be here to offer a hand up.
Commemorating
BRC's 50th Anniversary
1971 - 2021
Join BRC in a year-long commemoration of our 50th Anniversary, honoring a half-century of transforming the lives of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness