Mariah McGough

Programs in big cities are adapting, too. For example, VOCAL-NY, a statewide grassroots organization that helps low-income people affected by HIV/AIDS, runs a syringe services program out of Brooklyn. When the pandemic struck New York City, the organization started providing people with personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer.

Following weeks of demonstrations calling for a reduction in NYPD spending — part of a national reckoning over police brutality — VOCAL-NY learned it lost out on $2.25 million the Council had previously allocated to help the group buy a permanent headquarters in Brooklyn.