Roughly 340 New Yorkers gathered at The Plaza Ballroom on Friday, April 24th, for the Coalition’s Women Mean Business Luncheon. The annual spring event is a celebration of the Coalition for the Homeless’ First Step Job Training Program, recognizing the courage and determination of the program’s graduates and raising crucial funds to support the program.

^{The 2026 Women Mean Business Luncheon, at The Plaza Hotel.}

The afternoon at The Plaza was uplifting and powerful as the First Step graduates and supporters ate together and shared in the joy of the event. The program kicked off with a reminder that homelessness in NYC extends far beyond what one sees on the streets and in the subways every day. It also includes the more than 100,000 people sleeping in shelters each night – most of whom are members of homeless families with children – as well as the roughly 250,000 people sleeping doubled- and tripled- up in the homes of friends and loved ones.

But Dave Giffen, Executive Director for the Coalition for the Homeless, reminded the room that there are vastly more formerly homeless people in NYC than currently homeless people, because the solutions to homelessness do actually work – we just don’t see them. The successes are largely invisible to the public, who see only the system’s failures. And so there is reason for hope.

^{Content Creator, Comedian, and Host, Taryn Delanie Smith was our Emcee for the afternoon.}

The afternoon continued to deliver special and memorable moments. Content creator, comedian, and actor Taryn Delanie Smith kept the audience captivated with her signature charm as our Emcee, followed by an inspiring video from our Keynote Speaker, WNBA star Breanna “Stewie” Stewart who focused on what it means to leave behind a legacy for the next generation of girls and women.

As always, the highlights of the event were the accounts of the First Step graduates themselves. Rosa Perades, graduate of class 186, was featured in a video in which she shared the story of her life before she discovered First Step, as well as her successes after completing the program. Rosa let us all know that it is never too late to start your life over again.

^{Rosa Perades, First Step graduate of class 186}

And Linda Akaw, from class 178, described her powerful journey overcoming mental health challenges and homelessness to become a case manager, helping others who have been in her situation and feeling like a role model for her daughter.

^{Linda Akaw, graduate speaker, class of 176}

The Luncheon surpassed its fundraising goal, raising more than $500,000 to benefit the First Step Job Training Program’s ongoing mission of helping homeless and low-income women develop valuable skills, secure living wage employment, and realize their full potential.

In a video prerecorded by Breanna Stewart, she talked about what legacy means.

“It’s not just what you achieve, it’s what you leave behind for others. It’s the doors you open, the people you lift up, and it’s the system you help change, so the next generation doesn’t have to fight the same battles. As women, especially in spaces where historically we’ve had to prove ourselves over, and over again, legacy takes on an even deeper meaning. Because so many of us are not just building careers, we are building pathways. We are showing the next young girl, the next mother, that next leader, that she belongs in rooms where decisions are made. And that work matters.”

– Breanna “Stewie” Stewart

Dave then presented this year’s Philanthropic Honoree Award to the Ruth Stanton Foundation, represented by Sarah Stein-Sapir. Dave thanked the foundation for their roughly $2 million of support to the Coalition and First Step over the past eight years. Sarah shared what the First Step Program has meant to her, and why it so perfectly aligns with The Ruth Staton Foundation’s mission:

“Ruth Stanton was a champion of women and education, the direct impact of which guides the philanthropy of the foundation. The women in this program are up against such unimaginable obstacles. They more than just know they deserve better – they make the choice to do something about it, to change their circumstances. I find myself thinking about these women often, about the strength it takes to take the first step toward a better life.”

– Sarah Stein-Sapir

Coalition For The Homeless

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