CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org ON NATL. BLACK HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY, VOCAL-NY CALLS FOR FUNDING FOR STATEWIDE HOUSING FOR NEW YORKERS LIVING WITH HIV VOCAL-NY is Calling for State Lawmakers to Include Funding for Rest of State Housing for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Their One-House Budgets NEW YORK — Today, to honor National Black HIV Awareness Day […]
CONTACT: Joe Loonam, joseph@vocal-ny.org, 347-409-4650 VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS NEW FURMAN CENTER BRIEF “A STATE LEVEL RENT VOUCHER PROGRAM” NEW YORK — Today, in response to a new brief by the the Furman Center, “A State Level Rent Voucher Program,” VOCAL-NY released the following statement, attributable to Joe Loonam, Housing Campaigns Coordinator for VOCAL-NY: “The Furman Center’s
VOCAL-NY Applauds New Furman Center Brief “A State Level Rent Voucher Program” Read More »
“I was bullied into pleading guilty to something that I didn’t do and that conviction has had a negative impact on my life,” Eileen Maher, a community leader at VOCAL-NY, said in a statement. “It’s not right that now I have no recourse to vacate the conviction even if I can now prove that I
GOTHAMIST: NY lawmakers reinvigorate push to upend wrongful convictions: Read More »
CONTACT: Joe Loonam, joseph@vocal-ny.org, 347-409-4650 VOCAL-NY APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF HAVP OUT OF SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE ALBANY, N.Y. — Today, the New York Senate Housing Committee passed the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), which would help homeless New Yorkers find stable housing and create eviction prevention for tenants at risk of becoming homeless. “We are thrilled
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When New York changed its laws around where incarcerated people were counted, the next step was to quantify which areas sent the most people to prisons, according to VOCAL-NY’s civil rights campaign director, Nick Encalada-Malinowski. He sees the numbers of incarcerated people coming from upstate communities as a reflection of politics. As New York City
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 »
