Homeless advocates are marching in New York

Homeless advocates are planning to march on Gracie Mansion today. The House Our Future March will start at the intersection of 86th Street and Second Avenue at 11 a.m., before proceeding to the official residence of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

They want de Blasio to earmark 30,000 units in his affordable housing plan for homeless people. Among those participating: A coalition of neighborhood and advocacy groups, including Coalition for the Homeless, VOCAL-NY, Picture the Homeless, Henry Street Settlement, Urban Pathways and others. Read more here.

More training is needed for pediatric providers who are increasingly treating youth who identify as transgender. A new study published in the academic journal Pediatrics advocates for Gender-Affirmative Care, which emphasizes understanding of youth who are confronting gender issues.

“A strong, nonjudgmental partnership with youth and their families can facilitate exploration of complicated emotions and gender-diverse expressions while allowing questions and concerns to be raised in a supportive environment,” reads a policy statement accompanying the study.

Recommendations also include formal training, more standardized treatments and research on treatments for transgender and gender-diverse youth and their families. Read more about it here.

New York Presbyterian Hospital has received a $1.3 million contract from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money will fund substance abuse services for adults, according to the City Record. Covenant House New York also received a new contract from the department – a $507,900 deal to provide mental health services for adults.

The Administration for Children’s Services has released its mid-year report on the implementation of 16 recommendations to improve foster care. The Oct. 17 update follows the May 2018 release of the ACS Five-Year Foster Care Strategic Blueprint, which had the task of figuring out how to implement the recommendations from a March 2018 report.