U.S (VOCAL NEW-YORK) : VOCAL-NY Guide to Your Week !

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Eviction Moratorium: Make sure you are protected by the state's eviction moratorium! Click here to find out more and submit the documents you need to be protected! Tues. 2/16 : Join us for a Black History Month event -- Parole Justice is Racial Justice Lobby Day. Where : On ZOOM. RSVP : Here. More info : Stanley /stanley@vocal-ny.org  Thurs, 2/18 @3:00 PM : Join us for the monthly VOCAL-NY Users Union general membership meeting. We will be engaging in deep political education and building the power to change the narratives and outcomes of people who currently or formerly use drugs, as well as those whose lives have been impacted by the overdose crisis. Let's fight to end the racist and classist war on drugs and #EndOverdoseNY ! Where : Online/phone (via Zoom) RSVP :https://bit.ly/FebUUMembershipAssembly Contact Biz : 413.406.8838 |biz@vocal-ny.org Take Action Now ! Help us win the right to vote for all formerly incarcerated people. Click here to take action and contact your elected officials. Have you experienced a police interaction while in the middle of a mental health crisis ? Have you witnessed a police interaction with someone else in a mental health crisis ? Take this quick survey to help guide changes to City policies.

Week in Review

Thursday we organized 4 protests in 4 cities demanding Governor Cuomo and the legislature #TaxtheRich by passing the Invest in Our New York Act and fund solutions to end homelessness, and the overdose crisis ! Check out coverage in amNY, Spectrum News,WHAM, and Rochester City Newspaper. "Before the pandemic, we were already struggling. Poor people, Black and brown communities were severely underfunded and without additional revenue streams, the people who are going to be the most impacted are the homeless people. People suffering from drug use and substance use issues,” said Stanley Martin, VOCAL-NY. “What we are here to do today is to make sure that Governor Cuomo, that the legislators, that anybody in New York State understands that ending homelessness and ending overdose will only happen if we are actually are able to pay for the common sense policies...” said Jawanza Williams, VOCAL-NY We are keeping up the pressure for the City to pass Intro 146, a bill that would increase subsidy amounts to expand access to permanent housing for homeless New Yorkers. See coverage in amNY : “I am sick and tired of being told my needs are not a priority. I am sick and tired of living in a shelter. Intro. 146 is simple common sense and it’s shameful the Mayor and Council are not making it a priority when so many are in need,” said Milton Perez, a member of VOCAL-NY. We got coverage in El Diario on a new housing report we released in partnership with leading community organizations from across New York City this week. Check out the report here : Right to a Roof: Demands for an Integrated Housing Plan to End Homelessness and Promote Racial Equity. Our continued message of condemning Governor Cuomo's drug war inspired marijuana legalization bill was covered in WGRZ : Jawanza James Williams, director of organizing of VOCAL-NY said, "Currently it is a misdemeanor to sell a small amount of marijuana to a 20-year-old college student, but under Governor Cuomo's bill that would become a class D felony."

What We're Reading

#VOCALvaccinated Town Hall on COVID-19 Vaccine Questions and Concerns with VOCAL Leaders and Dr. Oni Blackstock and Dr. Kim Sue : Click here to watch on Youtube  City and State : State lawmakers discuss impeaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo NY Daily News : De Blasio pushes back on Cuomo budget — demands tax on rich, but declines to lay out specifics Buffalo News: No indictment for two Buffalo police officers charged for pushing 75-year-old protester Politico: Biden moving to withdraw Trump-approved Medicaid work rules

VOCAL-NY 80A 4th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11217-1908 info@vocal-ny.org | 718-802-9540