A nonprofit organization in Manhattan that helps homeless mothers and their children find permanent homes says there’s much work to be done to deal with the city’s ongoing homelessness problem.

Deborah Koenigsberger, the CEO of Hearts of Gold, joined NY1 on Mother’s Day to talk about her group’s work over the last three decades helping more than 36,000 homeless mothers find the support they need

“If we put our resources behind some of these ills of society, then we could really implement a major change in and maybe eradicate it,” Koenigsberger said.

Hearts of Gold served as an outlet for mothers who could not afford toiletries and PPE during the pandemic. Koenigsberger said the lack of groceries and the responsibility of providing three meals a day for their children made it difficult for moms who struggled to maintain their jobs. Her organization took action and delivered care packages to mothers who could not afford to buy the supplies they needed. 

Koenigsberger recalls the story of LaNaisha Miles, a struggling mother of six who lost her job during COVID. Hearts of Gold provided Miles with food, toiletries and furniture. She believes the city should do more to help mothers like Miles.

“The city should try to implement more programs in these shelters that allow for moms to have more of a support base,” she said.