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Democracy Now!: Rights Advocates to NYC Mayor Adams: You Can’t Arrest Your Way Out of Housing & Mental Health Crisis

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We also speak with Jawanza Williams of social justice group VOCAL-NY, who says Mayor Adams and his administration are intent on obscuring issues of homelessness and mental illness rather than solving them. “Hiding, disappearing people experiencing homelessness, dismantling encampments, preventing people from taking photographs inside of the shelters will not prevent the truth from coming […]

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AMNY: Lawmakers, parents and student march in Brooklyn to demand permanent housing provided to homeless students

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“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

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Jezebel: A District Attorney Campaigned on Freeing a Domestic Violence Victim. He’s Now Prosecuting Her.Jezebel:

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While speaking at the rally on Monday, Samah Sisay, another organizer at Survived & Punished NY, said “the criminal legal system has become another abuser to [McCarter].” In a press release shared with Jezebel, Susan Hadley, a civil rights organizer with the criminal justice organization VOCAL-NY, called McCarter “a Black woman who is being prosecuted

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AMNY: Vouch for the future: Homeless demand mayor make housing vouchers more effective

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“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

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New York Daily News: Majority of New Yorkers support package of bills to end wrongful convictions

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“Few things undermine the credibility of the criminal legal system as much as the incredible tolerance law enforcement and elected officials seem to have for wrongful convictions,” said Nick Encalada-Malinowski, civil rights campaign director for VOCAL-NY, an advocacy group championing the bills. “The Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act, which we now know is widely supported by

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CBS NY: New York lawmakers struggle with bail reform as part of budget negotiations

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Bail reform advocates made their message loud and clear as Democratic lawmakers gathered for an update on budget negotiations behind closed doors on Monday, days past the deadline. “We are here to ask lawmakers to make a conscious decision not to trade Black and Brown lives for political theater,” said John McFarlane of Vocal NY.

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Times Union: ‘It’s hard to argue with lives saved.’ As overdoses soar, calls for prevention centers grow

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“We’re watching the legacy of Cuomo’s 10 years of underfunding, cutting funding, neglecting legislation, rejecting evidence-based solutions play out in real-time — on top of an unstable drug supply, on top of the legacy of 50 years of the drug war,” said Jasmine Budnella, director of drug policy for VOCAL-NY, a group that advocates for

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