Mariel Cruceta is the Assistant Vice President of Supportive Housing Services at Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY), where she oversees eleven supportive housing programs consisting of approximately 1,500 units. Mariel has two decades of experience working in the social services field, including seventeen years focused on supportive housing. She has developed strong relationships with members of the New York City Council and New York Senate and Assembly, as well as with the local police precincts and community boards in the districts where VOA-GNY supportive housing programs are located. Mariel currently manages VOA-GNY’s Street to Home pilot program, which places individuals experiencing street homelessness directly into permanent supportive housing. This innovative program—a partnership between VOA-GNY, the New York City Office of the Mayor, NYC Department of Social Services, Human Resources Administration, Department of Homeless Services, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene—allows an unsheltered individual to bypass the shelter system altogether and immediately start focusing on their road to stability. Once they are housed, VOA-GNY staff support program participants as they obtain income and the requisite housing vouchers. With these goals achieved, participants sign a lease for the supportive housing unit they’ve been living in. Mariel holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Mercy University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Puerto Rican Studies from Hunter College. She is an alumna of Volunteers of America’s KeyMakers Program, an award-winning leadership development program. In 2023, Mariel was named a Gen X Above and Beyond honoree by City & State New York.