The United Homeless Organization was a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
homelessness charity based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It was disbanded in 2010 after it was ruled to be operating fraudulently.
Founded in 1985 by Stephen Riley, who ran the organization from his apartment in
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
,
The United Homeless Organization solicited money at sidewalk tables at various locations in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. Solicitors paid the organization $15 per shift (with 3 to 4 shifts per day) to rent a table and collection jug; any remaining funds raised they could keep for themselves.
According to the United Homeless Organization, more than three-quarters of its solicitors were homeless, and all had been homeless at one time.
In November 2009, New York State Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...
filed suit in
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...
in Manhattan against the group, charging that the founders kept most of the change collected. The suit charged that Riley and director Myra Walker used the money to buy items for their personal use, and to pay bills unrelated to the United Homeless Organization.
On June 24, 2010, Judge Barbara R. Kapnick ruled that the United Homeless Organization be permanently shut down and further banned Riley and Walker from ever engaging in non-profit work again.
References
External links
Court Orders United Homeless Organization to Remove Tables
Homelessness charities
Defunct organizations based in New York City
Organizations established in 1985
Organizations disestablished in 2010
1985 establishments in New York City
2010 disestablishments in New York City
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