NCS will Join ICL as An Affiliate, Boosting Services and Reducing Operational Costs
New York, NY — April 29, 2026 — The Boards of the Institute for Community Living (ICL) and Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS) today announced that NCS is joining ICL as an affiliate, marking an exciting step forward in expanding housing, services, and strengthening support for New Yorkers experiencing housing instability and related challenges.
As an affiliate, NCS will benefit from ICL’s expansive administrative platform and real estate development and clinical expertise. This partnership will bring operational and financial efficiencies, by reducing administrative costs, that will allow both organizations to deepen their impact and support more individuals and families across New York City.
“This affiliation reflects the best of both organizations—our shared values, our commitment to whole-person care, and our focus on expanding opportunity for the people we serve,” said Lisa J. Kleist, Board Chair, ICL. “By bringing together NCS’s strong community roots with ICL’s scale and infrastructure, we can increase our reach, strengthen our services, and ensure that more New Yorkers have access to the housing and support they need to thrive.”
“For more than 40 years, NCS has built deep relationships in the communities we serve, grounded in compassion, trust, and a belief in each person’s potential,” said David A. Oliver, Board President, NCS. “Joining ICL as an affiliate allows us to build on that legacy, preserving what makes NCS special while gaining new resources to help our most vulnerable neighbors for years to come.”
NCS was founded in 1982 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to help New Yorkers experiencing homelessness achieve independence. Guided by the belief that “neighbors should help neighbors,” NCS provides housing, community, and supportive services through three residential programs for individuals, young adults aging out of foster care, and unhoused college students, as well as programs offering substance use treatment, job training, and community outreach, including a citywide hotline and resource guides. They serve approximately 900 individuals each year via a staff of 40 and a budget of just over $6M.
ICL was founded in Brooklyn in 1986 to provide supportive housing to people who experienced housing instability and mental health challenges. Since then, the organization has become a national leader in supporting people with behavioral health challenges, creating innovative programs that effectively support people with the most serious challenges who have not been helped by other programs. The organization is also building out a continuum of housing options, from shelter to supportive and affordable housing. About 4,000 people sleep under an ICL roof each night. The organization supports a total of approximately 10,000 people a year, across 150 programs with the help of 1,700 staff members and a $240M budget.
“This partnership is based around a strong alignment on the importance of bringing innovative solutions to fill gaps in care and a deep belief that housing with the right supports is foundational to helping individuals stabilize, recover, and move forward with their lives,” said Jody Rudin, CEO, Institute for Community Living. “NCS’s one-of-a-kind Scholars program for housing insecure college students is a great example of what’s possible when we innovate and invest in people’s potential. That’s exactly what we do at ICL.”
“At NCS, our work has always been grounded in caring for our neighbors with dignity and respect,” said Mark Hurwitz, Interim CEO, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter. What makes this affiliation so powerful is that ICL brings the same values to its work. That cultural alignment is why we chose ICL as our partner.”
Together, ICL and NCS share a deep commitment to person-centered, trauma-informed care and a mission to help individuals achieve stability, dignity, and independence. By aligning their strengths, the organizations will be better equipped to meet growing needs across communities.
Importantly, there will be no disruption to services for individuals currently served by NCS. The affiliation is designed to enhance the programs and relationships that define NCS’s work, while expanding access to care and housing for more New Yorkers in need.
This transaction was made possible with the support of the New York Merger and Collaboration Fund (NYMAC), which encourages and supports mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, and other types of formal, long-term collaborations between nonprofits in New York City. NYMAC’s funders include Altman Foundation, The Booth Ferris Foundation, The Clark Foundation, The Heckscher Foundation for Children, The Lodestar Foundation, The New York Community Trust, and SeaChange Capital Partners.
About ICL
The Institute for Community Living is a nonprofit behavioral health and housing organization serving more than 10,000 New Yorkers annually and providing housing for 4,000 individuals each night across the five boroughs. ICL’s mission is to help New Yorkers with behavioral health challenges live healthy and fulfilling lives by providing comprehensive housing, health care, and recovery services.
About NCS
Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS) helps New Yorkers who have a history of homelessness, often compounded by mental illness or substance use, to achieve their highest level of independence. We were established in 1982 by faith and community leaders on Manhattan’s Upper East Side who believed that homelessness is the responsibility of the entire community. More than forty years later, we are still guided by the principle that neighbors should help neighbors. NCS provides New Yorkers who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness with a home, a community, and access to the services that they need to thrive.
