CUNY's one-stop help program for food, housing and health care is leaving the Bronx

A CUNY program that helps students hold on to food benefits, housing and health coverage is expanding beyond its three Bronx campuses. The university announced Wednesday that CUNY CARES will reach Queensborough Community College next year and all seven CUNY community colleges by 2029, thanks in part to a $900,000 private grant, THE CITY reported.

What the program does

CUNY CARES, short for Comprehensive Access to Resources for Essential Services, launched in 2023 as a three-year demonstration at Bronx Community College, Hostos Community College and Lehman College, according to CUNY. It focuses on four needs: food, health care, housing and mental health. At launch, CUNY said it would pay students to reach out to classmates who may qualify for benefits such as SNAP or Medicaid and help them sign up, and that successful pieces would later be extended to other campuses, according to the university's 2023 announcement.

• Reach: about 7,500 students were connected to services in the 2026 fiscal year, CUNY says. A 2022 survey found half of Bronx students, about 12,000, had two or more unmet needs.
• Benefits Hub: students who opt in are checked for SNAP and Fair Fares eligibility. About 1,000 students have been re-enrolled in SNAP through the hub, bringing in nearly $3 million in benefits, its director told THE CITY.
• Housing help: the program employs CUNY's first student housing coordinator, who said most of his work is eviction prevention. His office has helped at least 300 students keep or find housing, often by helping them contest the loss or denial of city and state benefits.
• Peer navigators: students work as navigators who point classmates to food pantries, support groups and services like a reduced-fare OMNY card.

Why it matters now

The expansion comes as new federal SNAP and Medicaid restrictions take hold. CUNY is working to have the hub also help eligible students enroll in Medicaid and health insurance, chief transformation officer Rachel Stephenson told THE CITY. Staff acknowledged the limits: the program cannot provide cash assistance, and on days when a student has nowhere to sleep, it can only connect them to what the university and the safety net offer.

How to get help

Students at Lehman, Bronx Community College and Hostos can meet a CUNY CARES navigator by emailing caresnavigators@cuny.edu with their name, school email, campus and EMPLID, or through the intake form at cuny.edu/navigator, according to CUNY. Navigators help with SNAP, Fair Fares, Cash Assistance and NYC Care, and refer students for housing, immigration and mental health help. In-person help runs weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters, with virtual sessions on evenings and weekends. CUNY has not yet published dates for the Queensborough rollout.