On April 25th, VOCAL-NY joined ACT UP for a march marking their 25th anniversary that called for a Financial Speculation Tax, also known as the “Robin Hood Tax,” to fund domestic and global healthcare, including universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment. A Robin Hood Tax would raise revenue to save lives while discouraging speculative activity that helped [...]

Sending the Sick Into the Streets? How Drug Tests Will Lock Homeless New Yorkers With HIV/AIDS Out of Shelters By Jaron Benjamin and Mike Selick April 26, 2012 There is an awful trend toward drug testing for public benefits sweeping through our nation. In late 2011, Florida began drug testing for the Temporary Assistance for Needy [...]

Progressive groups question CEO lobby for Cuomo April 23, 2012 Albany, NY — Two of New York’s growing progressive groups said Monday that a committee of CEOs lobbying on behalf of Gov. Andrew Cuomo is really a “Super PAC” for wealthy interests that a state regulatory board has failed to investigate. Community Voices Heard and [...]

The War on Drug Users: Are Syringe Exchanges Immoral? (Elizabeth Owens and Cindy G. are leaders in VOCAL-NY and active in campaigns to prevent fatal overdose and expand syringe access.) MAR 13 2012 | JULIE TURKEWITZ For nearly four decades, Elizabeth Owens injected heroin in shooting galleries across New York City, handing over a bag of dope for [...]

Familiarity With Drugs Helps a Group Speak for Users (A New York Times profile of our allies at the San Francisco Drug Users Union mentioned VOCAL-NY’s work to prevent HIV, hepatitis C and overdose deaths in New York. Read the full story here.) “Yet with attitudes about drugs and the drug war seemingly evolving in [...]