People living in New York City deserve to caring & compassionate local government. VOCAL-NY released the following platform of demands for the New York City Council to adopt and make a down payment toward a Caring & Compassionate New Deal for New York City during budget negotiations for the 2023/24.
Celina Trowell, a homelessness organizer with VOCAL-NY, said the CityFHEPS program is “one of the most successful tools that we have in the city to try and get people out of shelters into permanent safe housing.” Trowell flagged issues and shortcomings, ranging from administrative flaws and errors when processing CityFHEPS applications, structural barriers, and long delays that
The disruption to the social fabric caused by COVID-19, exacerbated by a failed government response that left over 1 million people dead and a social service safety net in even worse shape than before, has only intensified the intersecting crises faced by VOCAL-NY members. This social dislocation has also impacted the political environment, turning back
2023-2024 New York State Legislative Platform Read More »
The continued harm from criminalization, incarceration, and the legacy of former Governor Cuomo’s austerity have resulted in a historic number of New Yorkers dying from preventable overdoses, record high homelessness, increased rates of hepatitis C and emerging HIV clusters. This session, our state must continue the momentum from last year and reverse these harms by
2023-2024 New York State Budget Platform Read More »
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org, 203 470 9979 VOCAL-NY CONDEMNS MAYOR ADAMS ‘INVOLUNTARY ASSISTANCE” ORDER THAT WILL HARM NEW YORKERS NEW YORK — Today, in response to Mayor Adams ordering law enforcement to use “involuntary assistance” to address people who are homeless and experiencing mental health crises, VOCAL-NY released the following statement, attributable to Jawanza Williams,
VOCAL-NY Condemns Mayor Adams ‘Involuntary Assistance” Order That Will Harm New Yorkers Read More »
“When I entered the shelter system — with a voucher in hand — my son was 17 and I was separated from him because they put him in an adult shelter,” said Charisma White with VOCAL-NY and Neighbors Together. “My son died by an overdose in an SRO from a lethal dose of drugs. Even
CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org, 203 470 9979 LAWMAKERS, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS MARCH TO DEMAND THE CITY AND STATE CREATE PERMANENT HOUSING FOR 104K STUDENTS WITHOUT HOMES See Pictures and Videos From Today’s March Here; New DOE Data Shows 100k+ Students in New York City Lack a Permanent Home NEW YORK — Today, advocates marched in Sunset Park following the release
CONTACT Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org Joseph Loonam, joseph@vocal-ny.org NO MORE HOMELESS STUDENTS: VOCAL-NY RESPONDS TO NEW DOE NUMBERS SHOWING RATE OF CHILD HOMELESSNESS GREW FROM 2021 NEW YORK — Today, the New York City Department of Education and Advocates for Children of New York released data showing that one in 10 students in New York lack
CONTACT: Joseph Loonam, joseph@vocal-ny.org, 347 409 4650 VOCAL-NY RESPONDS TO DEATH OF AN ASYLUM SEEKER AND WARDS ISLAND RESIDENT, CALLS OUT OVERCROWDING IN NYC SHELTERS VOCAL-NY and Allies Called on the Mayor and City Council to House People by Reforming the CityFHEPs Program See Op-Ed From VOCAL-NY Leader Who is Undocumented and Calling for CityFHEPs Reform NEW YORK — Today, there
“I myself right now am experiencing discrimination still. I have recently gotten a section eight voucher that my landlord fails to actually confirm that he’s actually willing to accept it. Legally he has to, but I haven’t gotten a response to my email asking that,” Felix Guzman of Vocal-NY said. “It just doesn’t make sense
AMNY: Vouch for the future: Homeless demand mayor make housing vouchers more effective Read More »
