Dr. Hayley Carrington-Walton and Syrena Huggins Tapped for Newly Created Roles at HELP USA to Elevate Services for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence and Housing Insecure Adults and Families.

Leaders to provide centralized vision and helm capacity building ahead of the addition of hundreds of transitional and new, affordable, and supportive housing options coming online.  

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NEW YORK, NY– (March 13, 2023) HELP USA, the renowned national homeless services provider, and low-income housing developer, today announced a second round of promotions in COO Daniel Farrell’s department. Dr. Hayley Carrington-Walton has been named Vice President of Gender-Based Services. Syrena Huggins moves into an expanded role as Associate Vice President of Homeless Prevention & Rapid Rehousing Services. Continuing the HELP USA tradition of elevating from within and fostering career growth for women, these promotions come on the heels of three others announced earlier this year. 

“Hayley and Syrena are highly respected experts in their areas,” said Daniel Farrell, LCSW, HELP USA Chief Operating Officer. “Their deep connections within the domestic violence and homelessness prevention sectors, commitment to the mission of HELP USA, and compassionate, supportive management style are the exact combination of skills we need as we face continued elevated numbers of shelter residents caused by the refugee-seeking population influx and prepare for hundreds of transitional housing units coming online in the HELP USA portfolio across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Suffolk County, their skills sets position us well to manage that challenge” 

Dr. Carrington-Walton has overseen the HELP USA non-residential Gender-Based Violence services for 20 years as Executive Director of HELP R.O.A.D.S. (Reaching Out to Advocate for Domestic Abuse Survivors), managing two sites in Brooklyn and a children’s program within the Brooklyn Family Justice Center. In her newly expanded role, Carrington-Walton will work across the HELP USA portfolio of sites to create policies and procedures for staff that offer significant hands-on experiences, formal education, and innovative training in developing sustainable solutions to end gender-based violence and assist with survivor healing.  

“Homelessness and gender-based violence are closely linked. Reducing the number of people impacted by this type of trauma will directly reduce the number of those who enter shelter and the length of time they need to recover,” said Carrington-Walton. “The opportunity to address these problems at all of our transitional sites and provide supportive services at our affordable housing units is precisely the type of solutions at the scale necessary to affect sustainable systemic changes.”  

Dr. Carrington-Walton is a member of the NYC Mayor’s Office to End Gender-Based Violence Advisory Council. The council provides feedback and guidance to Commissioner Cecile Noel on the development and  

implementation of ENDGBV’s programs and policies, and ways to strengthen the City’s approach to domestic and gender-based violence. Additionally, Carrington-Walton is Co-Chair of the NYC Region Domestic Violence Regional Council, an initiative of New York State’s Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence whose goal is to identify policy solutions to the unique needs of the region as well as to suggest broader solutions for how the State might be helpful to survivors.  

Dr. Carrington-Walton has a Ph.D. in Psychology and is certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), working with adults, children, and families who have experienced trauma, particularly because of gender-based violence.   

Syrena Huggins will transition from HELP’s Executive Director of Supportive Services for Veteran Families, where she has served since 2016, and assume a critical new leadership position at the forefront of HELP USA’s homelessness prevention efforts as Associate Vice President of Homeless Prevention & Rapid Rehousing Services. Huggins takes over during a pivotal time, as HELP USA looks to ramp up prevention programs on the heels of its recently published report detailing a record success rate in 2021, with over 95% of Homebase program participants remaining stably housed in the 12 months following HELP’s intervention. Currently, Homebase operates out of three locations in the Bronx, with plans to expand in the near future. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to work as line staff, providing direct client services, and as a manager providing training and operational oversight. This foundational knowledge provides me with a unique point of view that will inform our growth plans, allowing our staff to receive the support they need to succeed in keeping the most vulnerable and at-risk households from experiencing homelessness,” said Huggins. “The urgency of need and volume of requests for assistance is a flood. My immediate goal is to work with my colleagues at the HELP Fund to secure grants that will allow us to increase direct-to-the-client financial assistance for rental arrears, keeping people housed and out of shelter.” 

Huggins has a B.A. in Minority Health & Social Policy from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a Master of Public Affairs and Administration from Metropolitan College of New York. 

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About HELP USA 

HELP USA works to ensure that everyone has a place to call home. We build affordable homes, provide shelter for people in crisis, and strengthen vulnerable communities. Every day, we address the root causes of homelessness at our 44 residences and over a dozen prevention and support programs. For more information, visit www.helpusa.org

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