U.S : VOCAL-NY Guide to Your Week !

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

03/17 SAVE THE DATE : March 17th at 5:30PM- A Caring and Compassionate NYC Mayoral Forum. RSVP by Clicking Here 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! Monday, 03/01 @ Noon : Join us with our friends at ACT-UP for the "Cuomo Cuts Kill" direct action against austerity-Cuomo's call to cut at the billions AIDS and healthcare services. We demand passage of the #InvestInOurNY Act ! Where : 633 3rd Ave, NY, NY. RSVP : Click Here Contact : Jawanza, 917-488-4961 Tuesday, 03/02  @ 11AM : We will be joining our allies at the Jails Action Coalition for a Rally to End Solitary Confinement in NYC Jails. 8 months after promising to end solitary confinement, Mayor de Blasio has not come through. RSVP to join on-line here. Tuesday, 03/02 @ 3PM : Have you been wrongfully convicted, or have a family member who has been ? Join us for a policy training on S266/A98 our bill to challenge wrongful convictions. Please RSVP here if you are able to attend. Wednesday, 03/03 @10AM : Join us for a press conference with Jumaane Williams to support the Invest In Our New York Act - a package of six bills that ends tax breaks for the richest New Yorkers and would raise $50 billion in needed revenue for our state. Where : 250 Broadway, NYC. Transit : A,C to Chambers St / 2,3 to Park Place / R,W to City Hall. Click here to RSVP. Wednesday, 03/03 @10AM : Join us for a digital press conference and Day of Action w/ the StartSmart campaign for #MarijuanaJustice as we call to #PasstheMRTA ! Where : Zoom Video. RSVP : Click Here  Contact : Jawanza, 917-488-4961 or jawanza@vocal-ny.org Wednesday, 3/3 @ 6PM : Capital Region General Membership Assembly - Members, leaders, allies & newcomers are all invited to join us for a leader-led assembly as we discuss campaign updates, debrief and plan lobby meetings, take action together remotely, & plan upcoming days of action, rallies, & more !Where : Online or by phone (Zoom). RSVP : Click here to join us! Contact : Luke 917-702-8781/Luke@vocal-ny.org TAKE ACTION NOW ! Click here and send an email to New York State leaders: Urge them to support the #InvestInOurNY Act and fund housing for homeless New Yorkers in this year's budget ! Click Here to tell your Assembly member to pass A4448A, to codify voting rights for all formerly incarcerated people. Our Legal Clinic, in partnership with NYU Law Students has returned. Please reach out to SAFER's Intake Coordinator, Niteka Raina, to learn more information about the weekly clinic and/or sign up to attend at safer.nyu@gmail.com or text to (512) 743-9234.

Week in Review

Our efforts to codify voting rights for all formerly incarcerated people got coverage in City & State and the Times Union. “Im so happy the Senate passed this (voting rights) bill, but we still have a long way to go,” Jovada Senhouse, VOCAL-NY Member-Leader and board member, said in a statement. “We aren’t going anywhere until we end solitary confinement, and wrongful convictions, pass parole reform and restore the right to vote to our incarcerated brothers and sisters.” Our Co-Executive Directors were recognized as non-profit leaders on City & State's The 2021 Nonprofit Power 100. Jeremy Saunders and Alyssa Aguilera lead the progressive advocacy organization VOCAL-NY’s efforts pushing for legislative change on homelessness, drug policy and mass incarceration, as well as its direct services including syringe exchanges. VOCAL-NY has been a prominent voice calling for New York City officials to cut funding to the NYPD this past year, in addition to pushing for tax increases on the wealthy and canceling rent during the pandemic. We broke ground on our new building! Check out coverage in Patch. Help us make this building a permanent home for justice, compassion, and love by donating to our Capital Campaign here! "As Brooklyn rapidly gentrifies, our long-time office space on 4th Avenue was sold to developers and will be replaced with luxury condos. After close to 20 years, we will be forced to move," said VOCAL-NY. "But we are seizing this moment to secure ourselves a larger space and permanent home only blocks away from where we are today."

What We're Reading

New Republic: What if We Pay People to Stop Using Drugs? National Alliance to End Homelessness: Centering Racial Equity in Homeless System Design NYTimes: If 'Housing is a Right,' How Do We Make it Happen?

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