I’ve had many times in my life where I’ve struggled. When I gained my freedom after being incarcerated, it wasn’t easy reentering my community. Or when I was a regular substance user and knew I would die if I continued on that path. Even with limited resources, I was able to get the help I […]
After ageing out of foster care, Neely became homeless and began spending nights on the streets, in the subway system and New York City’s shelters. New York City is one of the only places in the United States with a “right to shelter”: by law, authorities must provide a clean bed for the city’s homeless
It has been four days since the chokehold death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a subway train in Manhattan. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating and weighing potential charges for the man who put Neely in the chokehold. Multiple law enforcement sources confirm that man is 24-year-old former Marine Daniel Penny. Mayor Eric Adams
We entered 2022 riding the highs of the previous year, our most successful New YorkState legislative session ever. We knew we had our work cut out for us. Stateand city budgets placed an emphasis on gutting essential services forlow-income New Yorkers and prioritizing investments in criminalization,incarceration, and lining the pockets of the wealthiest. While elected
VOCAL-NY 2022 ANNUAL REPORT Read More »
If the Adams administration is serious about moving homeless New Yorkers from the streets and shelters and into permanent housing, they should just do it, said Milton Perez, an activist who spent five years in shelters before winning an affordable housing lottery in Brownsville. The “Housing First” approach eliminates onerous eligibility packets and preconditions, like
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 »
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 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 »
Last year, a state panel tasked with determining how to spend over $2 billion in settlement funds from drug companies that had a role in the addiction crisis recommended that some of that money should fund the supervised injection sites. But the governor’s administration rejected that proposal. State Office of Addiction Services and Support Commissioner Chinazo
CITY & STATE: Will hochul come around on supervised injection sites?: Read More »
