People who have been treated unfairly by public officials without legal recourse argue more accountability for all officials will improve public safety, and Hochul’s position on the proposal doesn’t make sense. “Gov. Kathy Hochul has said that no one should be above the law and public safety is her top priority, but then yesterday said […]
On January 25, the harm reduction organization VOCAL-NY is holding an advocacy day in Albany, urging the passage of Daniel’s Law “to end the criminalization of mental illness and substance use disorder, especially in Black and brown communities.” Daniel’s Law would create a statewide council and numerous smaller regional or local councils, responsible for setting up “emergency and crisis
FILTER MAGAZINE: HOW “DANIEL’S LAW” COULD TRANSFORM NY MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE: Read More »
“The Governor’s answer to the worst overdose crisis in New York’s history is to increase penalties for fentanyl and drug-induced homicide laws that only advance the War on Drugs, rather than the fight to save lives,” said Jawanza Williams, director of organizing for VOCAL-NY, an advocacy group. “Most egregious of all: Hochul’s complete omission of
GOTHAM GAZETTE: What Wasn’t in Hochul’s 2023 State of the State Agenda: Read More »
Jasmine Budnella, the director of policy for VOCAL-NY, a drug-user advocacy group, applauded the investment in drug-checking technology and pointed to its pilot use at New York City’s two safe injection sites, also referred to as overdose prevention centers, where staff have been utilizing drug-checking technology to screen users’ samples. Advocates are still disappointed in
TIMES UNION: Cautious policies for opioid crisis miss the mark, advocates say: Read More »
CONTACT: Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.org//Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY SLAMS GOV. HOCHUL AFTER NYC 2021 OVERDOSE DATA RELEASED Governor Hochul Recently Rejected the Opioid Settlement Board’s Recommendation to Use Settlement Funds to Keep Overdose Prevention Centers Running NEW YORK — After calling on Mayor Adams and DOHMH Commissioner Vasan to release finalized 2021 overdose data, new data was released yesterday illustrating significant increases in preventable overdoses.
VOCAL-NY Slams Gov. Hochul After NYC 2021 Overdose Data Released Read More »
Last year, a state panel tasked with determining how to spend over $2 billion in settlement funds from drug companies that had a role in the addiction crisis recommended that some of that money should fund the supervised injection sites. But the governor’s administration rejected that proposal. State Office of Addiction Services and Support Commissioner Chinazo
CITY & STATE: Will hochul come around on supervised injection sites?: Read More »
New York’s $2.5 billion in opioid settlement money is no “windfall.” It’s not something that happened to drop in our laps by happy accident. That money was earned through human misery. The funds were handed over by opioid manufacturers and distributors who profited from others’ addiction, but they’re not the ones who paid. The price
TIMES UNION: EDITORIAL: ACTION ON OPIODS Read More »
CONTACT: Nick Encalada-Malinowski / nick@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY REJECTS NOMINATION OF HECTOR LASALLE FOR CHIEF JUDGE OF THE NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS NEW YORK — In response to the nomination of Hector LaSalle for Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, VOCAL-NY released the following statement, attributable to Nick Encalada-Malinowski, Civil Rights
The state’s top court has been highly criticized in recent years as a quartet of conservative-leaning judges led by DiFiore dominated decisions from the seven-member panel. “New Yorkers have been promised a break from the past administration, but Hector LaSalle’s background suggests that he would instead continue this tradition of Cuomoism to the detriment of
CONTACT: Jasmine Budnella, jasmine@vocal-ny.orgMariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org VOCAL-NY CONDEMNS GOV. HOCHUL’S DECISION NOT TO INVEST OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS IN OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTERS AMID A SURGING OVERDOSE CRISIS NEW YORK — Yesterday, news broke that Governor Hochul rejected the recommendation by the Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Board to fund and expand Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs). In response,
