This legislative session opens under the shadow of severe federal cuts to housing, healthcare, and food assistance — decisions that will deepen inequality and worsen homelessness, overdose deaths, and poverty across New York. Meeting this moment requires more than opposing federal attacks; it demands bold, coordinated action to ensure housing, healthcare, economic security, and dignity […]
2026 State Legislative Platform Read More »
The VOCAL-NY CRU is building a base of directly impacted people and developing them to lead our fight to both change the narratives around mass incarceration and advance concrete policy wins at the local, state and federal levels to decrease the number of people currently incarcerated as well as the number of people who come
2025 VOCAL-NY Civil Rights Union Platform Read More »
To solve homelessness, it is vital to tackle the interconnected eviction and affordability crises. There are countless rent-burdened households that are one paycheck away from homelessness and struggling to afford rising living costs. According to the NY State Unified Court System, this housing insecurity has led to 179,648 active eviction cases throughout New York as
Effective Solutions to Immediately Address New York’s Statewide Homelessness Crisis Read More »
The election is over. We don’t need any more campaign ads. We need politicians to deliver. Download the Demands Here
Deliver for the People Read More »
Effective Solutions to Immediately Address the Ongoing Humanitarian and Political Crises of Homelessness, Substance Use, and Public Safety The intersecting issues of homelessness, the overdose crisis, and unmet mental health needs continue to impact an ever-growing number of New Yorkers, causing a humanitarian crisis across New York State. Our lawmakers continue to lean on rhetoric
2025 State Legislative Platform Read More »
Solving Ongoing Crises of Homelessness, Overdose and Criminalization by Building Safe and Thriving Communities 2024 Legislative Session The intersecting issues of the homelessness and overdose crises are at record levels, causing a humanitarian and political crisis across New York State. Instead of investing in effective interventions like housing, services and care, our state’s leaders lean
2024 STate Legislative Session Platform Read More »
VOCAL-NY is proud to join a list of more than 130 organizations representing advocates and experts from public health, overdose prevention, and drug policy across the nation in releasing a roadmap on how states should spend $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. Public health expertscall on states, counties, and municipalities to invest 100% of these
VOCAL-NY is dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic, drug war, mass incarceration and homelessness in New York State. We do this by building the power of low-income people directly impacted by these issues. We have chapters in New York City, Westchester, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. The continued harm from criminalization, incarceration, and the legacy
2022-2023 Legislative Platform Read More »
VOCAL-NY is dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic, drug war, mass incarceration and homelessness in New York State. We do this by building the power of low-income people directly impacted by these issues. We have chapters in New York City, Westchester, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.
2022-2023 State Budget Platform Read More »
