Welfare Warriors

Fall 2007

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Mothers news from around the world

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  Fall 2007

Picture the Homeless

New York October 30:   Picture the Homeless, New York City Faith Leaders, Elected Officials and our Grass Roots Allies turned up the heat on Mayor Bloomberg on the Steps of City Hall, October 30^th. And sleep-outs, sidewalk Communion and due vigilance get families placed in overnights at the PATH -- even after DHS puts in writing that they are denied and not "allowed on the premises for 10 days!!"

            Remember the old joke: "how many people does it take to change a lightbulb?"  Well, that is pretty much the idea at the PATH right now.   How many people does it take to place homeless  families in overnight shelter?  We wonder how much money do those intake workers make at the PATH to NOT do their job??  Or, is it that their job IS to keep people out of the system? (more on that later)

            It took apparently alot more than PATH workers to make sure that homeless families were not locked out in the cold.  It took several faith leaders , a press conference, a sleep-out by Picture the Homeless ( no, we aren't going away!), and Voices of Women. We were joined by Camella Pickney-Price, Chief of Staff for State Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., Tommy Lin, from Betsy Gotbaums office, Marc Greenberg, Director of Interfaith Assembly on Hunger and Homelessness, and DHS's very own Susan Nayowith, head of the DHS Advocacy Department.

It took all of us to force the PATH staff to think again and not deny a couple and their 2 month old baby to sleep another night on the subway.  

            Yes, you read it right.  With a piece of paper saying that they couldn't return to the premises for 10 days, this couple was understandably devastated.  What if we all hadn't been there with our cameras, anger, cajoling and chants?  This couple couldn't even sleep on the floor of St Anns because they hadn't been cleared by Legal Aid!  But with enough pressure from folks outside of the PATH and pressure from folks going back inside, this family’s case, along with several others, was "revisited" and they got "placed" for 10 days.

            This is a system that is broken!!  We aren't out there to sleep on the sidewalk to make sure that individual cases are handled properly.  We are out there to ensure that there is a change in policy and that PATH staff are held accountable for providing access to emergency services and shelter for homeless families.

 Each night that we are monitoring conditions from outside of the PATH, all of the families previously denied get placed.   This is not good enough!  We will  keep organizing and standing in solidarity with PATH families until the night comes when we can all go home - or at least to a clean, decent and safe shelter that will lead to housing!

            AND we can't let the disaster at the PATH overshadow another recent symptom of DHS system breakdown: the arbitrary change in eligibility for housing subsidies for Single Homeless Adults, described in depth in our blog, www.picturethehomeless.org/blog

From the sidewalk of the S Bronx to City Hall

Picture the Homeless was joined at City Hall by Faith Leaders, Grass Roots Allies, Voices of Women and Community Voices Heard, Interfaith Assembly on Housing and Homelessness, and Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito. We asked Mayor Bloomberg end the arbitrary and unjust policies at the PATH, and to rethink his approach to housing (not shelters!) and homeless New Yorkers. 

            Archdeacon Michael Kendall of the Episcopal Diocese passionately challenged Mayor Bloomberg.  “ Now what is going on in the City is that it is turning its back on the poor, the hungry and the homeless.  The only reason that this is happening is because of this Mayor and his political philosophy which is something around - do it for yourself. " 

            Iman Talib Abdur Rashid, Spiritual Leader of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, located the issue of homelessness as one of housing and social justice. "We of the Islamic faith are here this morning in solidarity with those of the Christian community and Jewish community among others, in order to advocate on behalf of the victims of injustice in this city in the area of housing.  We share in common the mandate that the hungry must be fed, the naked clothed, and the homeless housed.  This is a value and a tradition that goes back 14 centuries in Islam."

            Rev. Paul Black of Transfiguration Lutheran Church reminded us all that homelessness CAN be solved:  "When we want a stadium, we build a stadium...but when it comes to addressing homelessness, where is our creativity?  Where is the energy being spent?  You know what they are doing with their time?  I imagine that they are sitting around in the offices of DHS coming up with ways to demonize the homeless....to claim that they are abusing the system...instead of finding real solutions!"

            And Sophia Bryant, Picture the Homeless leader, challenged Mayor Bloomberg to Stop and Re-evaluate his 5 Year Plan to End Homelessness:  “The city has a problem: Bloomberg  promised he would reduce the number of homeless New Yorkers by two-thirds by 2010. But people are still poor and they can't afford housing. So now, the city is making it even harder for families to enter the shelter system. They're punishing the people who need housing for the simple fact that shelter numbers aren't going down.

            Stay tuned for links to new YouTube footage of the press conference and  sleep out as well as in-depth interviews with homeless families...and for an announcement of our next action so that you can JOIN US!!!!!!!

 Picture the Homeless
www.picturethehomeless.org
www.youtube.com/picturethehomeless