Programs & Services
AmeriCorps Seniors Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP in New York City connects adults aged 55 and over with meaningful volunteer opportunities in their communities that match their skills, interests, and availability. Volunteers serve in partner organizations throughout the five boroughs including soup kitchens and food pantries, hospitals and health care facilities, educational settings, community-based organizations, cultural institutions, and more.
Benefits Plus Learning Center
For over 25 years, the Benefits Plus Learning Center (BPLC) has equipped social services professionals across NYS with publications, trainings, and consultation services on government benefits and housing programs. BPLC addresses the complexities of navigating the benefit system for real life scenarios, as well as the coordination of multiple benefits.
Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP)
CHAMP is the New York State independent health insurance ombudsman program for substance use disorder and mental health care. We educate and assist New Yorkers in accessing treatment and insurance coverage for substance use and mental health treatment.
Community Health Advocates (CHA)
For more than 20 years, Community Health Advocates has been a leading voice for New York's health care consumers, providing free, one-on-one assistance and community trainings to help people find and use health insurance and care.
Community Service Society Navigator Network (CNN)
Enrolling individuals, families, and small businesses and their employees in free and affordable health insurance statewide. We've got you covered.
Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP)
Empowering you to tackle student loans and achieve your educational goals with less debt.
Facilitated Enrollment for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled Program (FE-ABD)
FE-ABD is a New York State-sponsored public health insurance application assistance program for people who are aged, blind or disabled. We educate and assist New Yorkers with enrolling in and using public health insurance programs.
Financial Advocacy Program
The Financial Advocacy Program provides financial coaching and public benefits counseling at community-based organizations, hospitals, and other agencies that serve low-income communities in New York City. Our work is powered by a cadre of skilled volunteers, primarily retired professionals, who have been rigorously trained in financial literacy and public benefits.
Independent Consumer Advocacy Network (ICAN)
ICAN is the New York State Ombudsprogram for people with Medicaid who need long term care or behavioral health services. We assist New Yorkers with enrolling in and using managed care plans that cover long term care or behavioral health services.
Independent Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Ombudsprogram (IDDO)
In 2023, Section § 33.28 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law was enacted. This law requires the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to have an independent Ombudsman to provide independent, conflict-free services to assist individuals with developmental disabilities and preserve their rights.
Keep New York Covered (KNYC)
The Keep New York Covered (KNYC) program is a network of Navigator and FE-ABD enrollment agencies that receive dedicated funding to conduct marketing and outreach of their services. These agencies assist consumers with getting and keeping health insurance. The KNYC network of agencies are based locally in the communities they serve.
Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP)
New York City’s Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP) helps residents with their health care access and insurance needs. The program is led by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) together with a network of 20 community-based organizations (CBOs) that help New York City’s most vulnerable populations navigate the health care system, understand complex coverage rules, appeal insurance denials for care, and resolve cost of care issues.
National Student Debt Counselors Network
The National Student Debt Counselors Network (NSDCN) is a first-of-its-kind initiative that empowers nonprofit and community-based organizations across the United States to provide free, high-quality student loan guidance directly to borrowers. It is a CSS initiative supported by funding from Lumina Foundation.
Next Door Project
The unemployment rate of people with criminal records dwarfs that of the general population and is highest among Black women and men, who have a 43.6% and 35.2% unemployment rate, respectively. People with criminal records who are employed make nearly half as much as those without records, leading to a lifetime earning loss of half a million dollars.